Application of Customized Microbial Culture Products for Improved Oil and Gas Production in the Carpathian Foreland, Poland

Microbial culture products have been used commercially in oil wells for over 15 years to control paraffin, enhance oil production rates, and alleviate well bore problems such as scale and corrosion. Microbes have wide-ranging capacity to cause desirable changes in fluid properties and the various mechanisms by which microbes act are described. Traditionally, microbial treatments were designed to act like traditional chemical treatments. These considerations involve the production of biosurfactants, solvents, and other oil-mobilizing agents. Production of these bene-ficial chemicals in situ improves oil flow properties, removes occlusions from the formation pore channels, and releases oil trapped in the formation. The broad spectrum of oil types and formations that have been treated successfully are reported along with treatment protocols. Treatment of well problems with microbial cultures provides several benefits over traditional technologies. Microorganisms have the ability to colonize the formation matrix and continually produce desirable products in situ for prolonged periods of time. Recent advances in microbial culture technology have led to identifying specific metabolic capabilities and developing applications to apply these unique capabilities to certain well problems. Examples of these applications are given, as well as considerations of mechanisms and modes of action.