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Permalink Reply by jim weyland on February 5, 2014 at 9:24

i don't know about anyone currently using  their process, but to me it seems to make sense provided it's cost effective. 

imo, the "holy grail" of enhanced oil recovery isn't about oil rather, it's about gas. we all know that a vast amount/% of oil remains in place upon depletion. and, in the case of a classic porosity/permeability reservoir if one could find bugs that in place "ate" oil and gave forth methane just imagine how much "new" gas we'd have. just running the numbers on the east texas field, woodbine horizon, i think would be mindboggling.

it's my understanding that research has long been going on inre: finding bugs that work. so far, unfortunately, no one's found the right bugs.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on February 5, 2014 at 11:51

Water flood has been used as an enhanced oil recovery technique for a long, long time.  This seems to be a means to make it more effective.  Water floods and other enhanced recovery methods are widely used in conventional oil fields that are shallow, have a high degree of permeability and usually porosity and are largely depleted, think stripper wells with tax advantages to encourage production.  Tight, highly impermeable unconventional formations would not be a candidate for any kind of flood treatment.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on February 5, 2014 at 13:55

As Skip says: "Tight, highly impermeable unconventional formations would not be a candidate for any kind of flood treatment".

My feeling is: This guy is a"snake oil" salesman. I would have to see actual results to believe that the process works. He shows no data of before and after treatment. If it works he should be showing data.

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Permalink Reply by dbob on February 5, 2014 at 15:04

The website does clearly indicate its for conventional formations, and can't be overly saline.  Some of the information suggests they are adding amino acid blends and I'd guess surfactants.

This will stimulate some of the bugs in the formation, but they will typically munch the shorter chain hydrocarbons first.  The longer chains are what might serve as an impediment to flow.    I'm willing to lay a $5 that if the ever share data, its no better than using a surfactant system at a concentration similar to that in their bug juice.  

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Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on February 5, 2014 at 16:03

dbob,

I agree with you. My first thought was, Just use surfactant. And I agree with Jim. If he's digesting oil with the "bugs" then it may increase the NG in the formation. That may help push some oil out but the way I see it it would have a very limited effect. Again, I would want to see data. He shows none on his web site.

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