Loading patent…
OwnerDouglas Baldwin, Neil S. Summerinventors
Estimating the term…
Petroleum reservoir souring caused by microbially induced production of hydrogen sulphide and other sulphur compounds and the attendant corrosion are remediated by isolating bacteriophage specific for the problematic bacteria (target bacteria) and adding an effective amount of such bacteriophage to water introduced into or resident in the reservoir to kill at least some of the target bacteria. Suitable virulent bacteriophage may be indigenous in the water or located in surrounding areas or taken from a known banked stock. Means of concentrating solutions of bacteriophage are also disclosed.
A process for remediation of souring caused by hydrogen sulfide in oil, gas and coalbed reservoirs comprising, providing a water pond or storage vessel or vessels, adding a solution or solutions of bacteriophages virulent for target bacteria to water in the provided pond or storage vessel and adding an effective amount of the water containing bacteriophage virulent for target bacteria from the pond or storage vessel into a reservoir wherein target bacteria are those identified as existing in the water of the pond or storage vessel by the procedure comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.