Heavy oil recovery process using extremophile anaerobic indigenous microorganisms

A biotechnological recovery process for heavy oil having an API gravity equal or greater than 10 degrees from porous media in an oil well that comprises the following steps:

• a) Selecting an oil well for recovery of heavy oil;
• b) Collecting one or more fluid samples from the oil well and performing microbiological and physicochemical characterization of the fluid samples to obtain technical information on the well;
• c) Determining the identity of extremophile anerobic indigenous microorganisms present in the well from the technical information;
• d) Forming a culture medium, suitable for stimulating activity and promoting production of metabolites by the extremophile anaerobic indigenous microorganisms in the well;
• e) Forming a mixed culture of microorganisms comprising the microorganisms from the samples of steps b) and c) which are extremophile, anerobic indigenous microorganisms of the well and the fermentative and methanogenic anaerobic, thermophilic, halotolerant and barotolerant microorganisms Thermoanaerobacter pseudoethanolicus, Thermoanaerobacter brockii, Thermoanaerobacter keratinophilus and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicus;
• f) Activation of the mixed culture obtained in step e), for stimulation and growth of microorganisms contained in mixed culture obtained from oil samples;
• g) Injecting an inoculum comprising the culture medium of step d) and the mixed culture of e) or f) into the well to increase the population of indigenous microorganisms in the well;
• h) Recovering heavy oil from the well after a minimum of 3 days after the injection of the microorganisms and nutrients.