Identification of hot environments using biomarkers from cold-shock proteins of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms
AssigneeExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company
InventorsGiovanni Pilloni, Zarath M. Summers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for identifying in situ presence of a hydrocarbon reservoir or of a pipeline leakage is disclosed. The method can include obtaining a sample from an area of interest, such as a sediment sample or water column sample near a hydrocarbon seep or near an offshore pipeline; analyzing the sample to detect nucleic acid, protein or metabolite signatures that are indicative of cold-shock response; identifying the relative abundance of the cold-shock signatures present in the sample in comparison to the surrounding environment.
Claims10
A method of determining whether a hydrocarbon seep emanating from a seafloor is in fluid communication with a hydrocarbon reservoir comprising:
- (a) obtaining a field sample near the hydrocarbon seep, wherein the field sample is obtained from a location that is within a radius of 150 meters from a center location where the hydrocarbon seep is emanating from the seafloor;
- (b) extracting one or more of proteins or nucleic acids from the field sample;
- (c) analyzing the extracted proteins or nucleic acids to identify thermophiles within the field sample that exhibit cold-shock signatures, wherein the cold-shock signatures are RNA secondary structures in which a portion of matching nitrogen nucleotide bases are bound (A:U and C:G) and a portion of matching nitrogen nucleotide bases are unbound, the cold-shock signatures due to the thermophiles experiencing an abrupt temperature downshift below an optimum temperature;
- (d) analyzing the cold-shock response thermophiles identified in step c to identify thermophile signatures that are indicative of hydrocarbon reservoir species, the hydrocarbon reservoir species being selected from the group consisting of Thermotogales, Desulfovibrionales, and any combination thereof;
- and
- (e) determining that the hydrocarbon seep is in fluid communication with the hydrocarbon reservoir based on the abundance of the cold-shock signatures in the field sample near the hydrocarbon seep compared to the surrounding environment, wherein if the cold-shock signatures are at least double compared to the surrounding environment it is determined that the hydrocarbon seep is in fluid communication with the hydrocarbon reservoir.
A method of monitoring a hydrocarbon pipeline disposed in a body of water, the method comprising:
- (a) obtaining a field sample near the pipeline, wherein the field sample is obtained from a location that is within a radius of 150 meters from a location along a length of the pipeline;
- (b) extracting nucleic acids from the field sample;
- (c) analyzing the extracted nucleic acids to identify thermophiles within the field sample that exhibit cold-shock signatures, wherein the cold-shock signatures are RNA secondary structures in which a portion of matching nitrogen nucleotide bases are bound (A:U and C:G) and a portion of matching nitrogen nucleotide bases are unbound, the cold-shock signatures due to the thermophiles experiencing an abrupt temperature downshift below an optimum temperature, the hydrocarbon species being selected from the group consisting of Thermotogales, Desulfovibrionales, and any combination thereof;
- (d) analyzing the cold-shock response thermophiles identified in step c to identify thermophile signatures that are indicative of hydrocarbon reservoir species, the hydrocarbon species being selected from the group consisting of Thermotogales, Desulfovibrionales, and any combination thereof;
- and
- (e) determining that the pipeline is leaking based on the abundance of the cold-shock signatures in the sample near the pipeline compared to the surrounding environment, wherein if the cold-shock signatures are at least double compared to the surrounding environment it is determined that the pipeline is leaking.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.