TECHNOLOGIES OF ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY 3
present (Hanaa, Sanket, Yahya, & Al-Bemani, 2011). The bacteria produce gas and solvents
that in turn dissolve in the crude oil, thus reducing its viscosity. Moreover, these products can
increase reservoir pressure, thus facilitating more efficient oil recovery process. The
microbial technique offers several advantages such as less dependence on energy compared
to thermal options, environmental friendliness as toxic chemicals are avoided, and easy
implementation process that does not require significant modification of existing
infrastructure. However, this method is associated with the possibility of oxygen penetration
into aerobic settings, thus leading to corrosion of non-resistant topside equipment and
underneath piping.
Foam flooding EOR process involves injecting foam into an oil reservoir to enhance
the sweep efficiency of driving fluid. Hence, foam mobility is reduced to a level almost equal
to that of the displaced oil (Wang, Liu, Zhang, Zhang, Liu, & Sepehrnoori, 2015). Moreover,
foams are effective in suppressing gas mobility during gas flooding. Besides, foams have a
low effective density that can be utilized to selectively place them in high reservoirs, thus
countering problematic gas flows that are likely to happen. However, a review of relevant
literature reveals that foam formation technology is complex, both chemically and physically,
for its successful application. Moreover, the high viscosity and weak injectivity of preformed
forms deter its use in narrow channels.
After an overview of three EOR technologies, microbial technique appears to be an
ideal choice for improving oil production process. Other than its positive aspects discussed
above, microbial EOR has a spectrum of other advantages that favor its use in the current
situation. First, its implementation risks are low, especially when an oil reservoir is nearing
the end of its economic life. Second, it is predictable that future growth and research
development in biological sciences will neutralize current challenges facing microbial EOR
technology.
