Prevention and remediation of petroleum reservoir souring and corrosion by treatment with virulent bacteriophage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9650272-B2
Application number	US-201314060297-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 22, 2013
Priority date	Dec 31, 2010
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

There is provided a safe, natural, environmentally sound means of controlling bacterial contamination, corrosion, and souring of oil and gas wells and reservoirs that result from bacteria-contaminated water in a well. In one aspect it is a process for remediation of souring of petroleum reservoirs and coalbeds by adding to the water used in flooding and “fracing” operations an effective amount of virulent (non-lysogenic) bacteriophages (phages) specific for problematic target bacteria. The invention also provides a means for combating loss of effectiveness of bacterial control by staging bacteriophage production and application to control dominant and sub-dominant target bacteria in a community of target bacteria.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for remediation of souring of oil, gas and coalbed geological reservoirs comprising adding to the water used in a hydrofracturing or flooding operation an effective amount of virulent bacteriophage derived from non-lysogenic bacteria and specific for target bacteria, the target bacteria comprising acid producing bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the virulent bacteriophage comprises a multi-panel of virulent bacteriophages, each having at least two bacteriophages virulent for each species of target bacteria.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the effective amount of bacteriophage comprise bacteriophage indigenous to the general location where it is to be applied to remediate reservoir souring.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein a solution of bacteriophage has a concentration of bacteriophage of about 1×10 7 to 1×10 10 pfu/ml.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein target bacteria comprise sulfate reducing bacteria, sulfuroxidizing bacteria capable of generating sulfuric acid, and iron-oxidizing bacteria.

6. The process of claim 1 comprising:
providing a water pond or storage tank,
adding a solution of bacteriophages virulent for target bacteria to the pond or storage tank solution to at least 1×10 5 pfu/ml, and
injecting an effective amount of the resulting solution into the reservoir.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein the target bacteria comprise sulfur reducing bacteria.

Assignees

• Dow Global Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Summer Elizabeth J
• Liu Mei
• Summer Neil S
• Baldwin Douglas

Classifications

• C12N2795/00031

  Uses of virus other than therapeutic or vaccine, e.g. disinfectant · CPC title

• C02F3/34 Primary

  characterised by the microorganisms used · CPC title

• C02F1/50 Primary

  by addition or application of a germicide or by oligodynamic treatment {(C02F1/4606, C02F1/467, C02F1/76 take precedence)} · CPC title