Survival of MEOR systems in porous media

It was determined that many potential environmental hazards from microbial enhancement of oil recovery (MEOR) technology are extensions of EOR environmental problems. One unique concern of MEOR is that interactions between injected microorganisms and molasses, and those microorganisms already present in the reservoir might pose novel problems. It appeared necessary to obtain information regarding the indigenous microbial flora and the survival characteristics of a MEOR system after it encounters simulated reservoir microbial conditions. We found from laboratory studies that adventitious microbial species present in the molasses overgrew several of the indigenous microorganisms in Berea sandstone cores and also overgrew the injected MEOR microorganisms. From the results of these studies, we conclude that: (1) The introduction of nutrients into a petroleum reservoir could stimulate the growth of indigenous microorganisms. (2) Microorganisms present in injected non-sterile nutrients can overgrow both injected microbes and indigenous microorganisms. (3) Spore-forming bacteria cannot survive time periods in porous media of 4-20 weeks if there are other bacterial types present. 7 refs., 7 figs., 6 tabs.