Oil and Gas - Microbial Hydrocarbon Bioremediation
Paraffin Control in Wells
Paraffin, associated with the production of crude oil, can cause several production problems. These problems include plugging of production strings, flow lines, production equipment, excessive tank bottoms, mechanical issues and possible reduction of well productivity.
Utilizing hydrocarbon degrading microbes is an effective way to treat paraffin problems. Advanced Microbial Services process is effective because the problem is treated at is point of origin, reducing paraffin in the formation, wellbore and production equipment. Here are just a few of our Paraffin Case Studies.
Advanced Microbial Services introduces into the well a treatment of microbial hydrocarbon bioremediation mix which consists of Advanced Microbial 101, nutrients and lease water. The mix is displaced to the bottom of the well and once the microbes come into contact with the food source the microbial population begins to increase in numbers up to 500 times.
- The treatment only requires approximately 1 hour to perform.
- The microbial mix is not damaging to the reservoir. Mechanical problems can be reduced.
- No special plumbing of wellhead or production equipment is necessary.
- Advanced Microbial Services treatment is inexpensive.
Production increases are usually obtained in three ways:
- Since the microorganisms thrive at the oil/water or water/paraffin interface, they will naturally seek out paraffin skin damage and gradually degrade it. This eliminates the paraffin’s interference with the natural inflow fluids into the wellbore.
- Both the elimination of skin damage and paraffin accumulations serves to flatten the decline curve, thereby extending the well’s economic life.
- The reduction of paraffin buildup on rods and in production equipment reduces down time.
Utilizing hydrocarbon degrading microbes is an effective way to treat paraffin problems. Advanced Microbial Services process is effective because the problem is treated at is point of origin, reducing paraffin in the formation, wellbore and production equipment.
Saltwater and Sodic Soil Reclamation
Saltwater spills are more common and damaging than oil spills. The high levels of sodium breaks the soil down into sand, making the soil almost useless for vegetation growth. As this is an obvious loss of income, it behooves all parties to remediate the land.
In the case of soil biotreatment, the remediation may follow two paths. First, the excavation and treatment requires replacing the soil into the treatment area where mineral nutrients and external organisms may be added to the soil followed by mixing to assure distribution throughout the soil.
Periodic mixing and addition of more nutrients and/or organisms serve to achieve homogeneity and the aeration of the soil. This scenario is often referred to as land farming, where microbes are in a sense being farmed, or tilled in to facilitate the degradation of the contaminating material.
Second, the soil treatment method, in situ, refers to the treating of the contaminated soil without removing it. Here mineral nutrients and organisms are added into the ground through wells, infiltration galleries or other means to allow the organisms to degrade the contaminating material where it is found. This is where our specially formulated L-GYP comes into play.
L-GYP is a true liquid gypsum formulated by Advanced Microbial Services. The calcium in this product is 100% soluble and since with normal gypsum products it can take 5 years for the calcium to dissolve, you can see how our product outperforms them by a landslide. If you want to get your site back to production or just get rid of the unsightly sand caused by sodic soil, Advanced Microbial Services has the quickest, easiest, most cost affordable service available.
Indigenous versus Inoculated
Most soils, especially shallow soils which include vegetation, will have an indigenous microbial population. The presence among that indigenous population of organisms with sophisticated degradation capabilities is highly variable. Long-term, chronic contaminated sites may show the presence of organisms capable of attacking the contaminated material if conditions of aeration and adequate mineral nutrition are present. Short term or emergency (spill) contamination sites are less likely to contain significant degradation populations.
The addition of external microbes of known degradation capabilities will:
- Offset the possible absence of indigenous degraders
- Speed the contaminate removal
- Allow degradation to reach lower levels (greater removal) since artificially high numbers of organisms will be maintained in the soil where low nutrient levels would otherwise be unable to maintain high populations
Some of the Oil and Gas companies that we provide services for are:
- Merit Energy
- Mid-Continent Energy
- International Energy
- Foundation Energy