Functional microbial stimulation for oil recovery enhancement based on microbial community analysis

Abstract

This study stimulated functional microbial adaptation to the extreme environment of the Luliang oilfield reservoir and assessed the impact of indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery treatment on the microbial community and oil recovery. By high-resolution pyro-sequencing, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Thauera, Arcobacter and Hyphomonas were regarded as suitable candidates and a customised nutrient mixture was selected to activate the target microbes. The interfacial tension of crude oil and water decreased from 29.76 mN m−1 to 0.65 mN m−1 and the emulsion stability index increased from 5% to 92% after customised nutrient culture. The oil biodegradation experiments after the cultivation exhibited positive effects in degrading aromatics, resins and asphaltenes fractions and improving the mobility. Six target genera were activated markedly after 96 h of incubation. The oil recovery was enhanced from 51.2% to 60.7% using fermentation broth injection. Thus, injecting a customised nutrient mixture with injection brine into the stratum to stimulate functional microbes has the potential to enhance oil recovery in the Luliang oilfield.