Indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR), which is based on the stimulation of indigenous microorganisms by introducing oxygen and nutrition with water injection to improve oil recovery, has gained attention from academic researchers and oil companies because it is environmentally benign, low-cost, and effective. In general, bacteria can be categorized into two groups during the IMEOR process, namely, the harmful and the beneficial bacteria to IMEOR. Functional microbial communities of three samples in different cultures from a low permeability oil reservoir were analyzed based on the MiSeq platforms pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Marinobacter was shared in many samples in the study，the relative content of Marinobacter was higher in the medium-supplied petroleum as the sole carbon. Oleomonas was found dominant in the medium, which used carbohydrates as the carbon source. Desulfovibrionaceae was detected in all production water samples cultured in anoxic environments, especially in the cultures that utilized low-molecular-weight acids. The other core microorganisms include Bacillaceae, Clostridium, and Enterobacteriacea. The hydrocarbon degradation bacteria or biosurfactant- producing bacteria were easy to activate by supplying carbohydrates and hydrocarbons in the aerobic environment. The biogas-producing bacteria prefer to utilize carbohydrates and low molecular weight organic matter in the limited oxygen environment. The results show that the zone of low permeability reservoir had a great potential for indigenous microbial-enhanced oil recovery.

Potential microorganisms for enhance oil recovery in a low permeability oil reservoir

249th National Meeting (2015)

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