Microbes to the Rescue | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
From drilling to refining, chemistry has long played a pivotal role in the oil and gas industry. Now, according to an article in “Rigzone”, its sister science, biology, appears poised to play a major part as well. Advances in genetic engineering, genome sequencing, and imaging have resulted in major advances in a number of areas. Some industry insiders contend that by increasing our understanding of the microorganisms found in oil and gas environments, we can not only increase operational safety, but also enhance productivity.
Contrary to what one might think, oil and gas environments are prime areas for microbes to grow. Some of these microbes form biofilms that can compromise efficiency and drive up costs. Souring of production and microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) are two areas of major concern. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), commonly known as sour gas, has long been a major concern for oil and gas operators. This corrosive, poisonous and flammable gas can be deadly, not to mention costly, to remove from produced fluids.
Corrosion, on the other hand, costs the industry an estimated $2.5 trillion (yes, trillion with a “t”) per year. There are two major categories of corrosion related expenses; mitigation and specialized materials. Mitigation efforts include running cleaning pigs in pipelines, injecting biocides and scale inhibitors, and monitoring the effectiveness of these measures.
Corrosion resistant alloys are effective, but are three times as expensive as carbon steel. While they can reduce the risk of MIC damage, or material degradation due to H2S exposure, they are not 100% effective.
For decades, researchers have been studying microbiological corrosion, souring, and fouling. The sheer variety of microorganisms and their diverse behaviors in different environments have complicated efforts to understand them. Traditionally, and understandably, efforts have focused on sulfate-reducing and acid-producing bacteria in order to address H2S and corrosion problems. However, some scientists now believe there are many more types of microorganisms that can affect oil and gas operations.
Another reason to pursue biologically based solutions is the fact that many chemicals used in oil and gas production are incompatible with each other. They can counteract each other, or worse, create new problems. For example, film forming corrosion inhibitors can render scale inhibitors (to resist rust) and de-emulsifiers (to separate oil from water) useless.
While research into biological solutions to oil field problems holds great promise, funding will depend on delivery of tangible, cost-effective results. Unfortunately, funding is hard to come by in today’s oil price environment.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?hpf=1&a_id=145944&utm .
Russell T. Rudy Energy, LLC buys oil, gas and mineral interests nationwide. Please call (800-880-0940), or write (info@rudyenergy.com ) to let us know if you agree, disagree or would just like to comment on this, or any of our posts.
