Method of treating a hydrocarbon bearing formation
AssigneeStatoil ASA
InventorEgil Sunde
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of treating a hydrocarbon-bearing measure such as an oil-bearing rock formation (13). The method comprises: injecting water containing a source of vitamins, phosphates and an electron acceptor such as nitrate into the formation at first location (10) and allowing anaerobic bacteria, which are either already present in the formation (13) or which are introduced simultaneously to multiply using the oil as their main carbon source. This establishes a biomass layer (16) which acts to dissociate the oil from the rock formation (13). The dissociated oil is removed via an outlet (15). The vitamins are supplied by means of a controlled-release medium.
Claims7
A method of treating a hydrocarbon-bearing measure, which comprises:
- bringing micro-organisms into contact with the measure;
- supplying the micro-organisms with growth factors;
- allowing the micro-organisms to multiply using the hydrocarbon as their main carbon source, thereby establishing a biomass layer which acts to dissociate the hydrocarbon from the measure;
- recovering the dissociated hydrocarbon;
- in which the growth factors are supplied by means of a controlled-release medium, are distributed through the measure by carrying out their supply over a predetermined period of time and are injected into the measure using water;
- and
- in which substantially no oxygen is supplied with the injected water.
A method of treating a hydrocarbon-bearing measure, which comprises:
- supplying anaerobic micro-organisms in the measure with growth factors;
- allowing the micro-organisms to multiply using the hydrocarbon in the measure as a main carbon source, thereby establishing a biomass layer which acts to dissociate the hydrocarbon from the measure;
- and recovering the dissociated hydrocarbon;
- and in which the growth factors are supplied in a controlled-release medium that releases the growth factors to the measure over a predetermined period of time and the controlled-release medium comprises a porous inert carrier of less than about 20 μm in maximum dimension impregnated with the growth factors.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.