Reservatórios de petróleo são ambientes únicos por apresentarem uma combinação de condições extremas referentes à temperatura, pressão e salinidade, e que sustentam o desenvolvimento de procariotos. Várias espécies dos Domínios Bactéria e Archaea têm sido isoladas deste ambiente, com destaque aos microrganismos redutores de sulfato (BRS), metanogênicos e fermentadores. Estes últimos utilizam como fonte de energia uma grande variedade de compostos orgânicos e uma grande parte de seus representantes em reservatórios pertence ao Filo Thermotogae. Estas bactérias apresentam uma estrutura característica envolvendo a célula, semelhante a uma bainha, chamada toga. Alguns gêneros deste Filo são habitantes exclusivos de reservatórios, como por exemplo, o gênero Petrotoga. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo isolar e caracterizar bactérias da classe Thermotogae a partir de fluidos de água/óleo de poços de um reservatório de petróleo localizado na região Nordeste, com vistas a contribuir para o conhecimento da diversidade e metabolismo microbianos deste tipo de ambiente. O reservatório tem salinidade média de 7%, temperatura média de 60ºC, o pH dos fluidos situa-se entre 6,6-6,8, e a profundidade média dos poços é de 1.100 metros. Dois meios propostos na literatura para o cultivo de Petrotoga foram testados para o isolamento deste gênero: meio P-mexicana e meio P. olearia. Os meios foram preparados em anaerobiose, sob atmosfera de N2 e salinidade de 70g/L de NaCl. Inóculos de cultivos pré-existentes em meios enriquecidos foram feitos nestes meios e incubados a 60ºC. Ambos os meios se mostraram seletivos para linhagens de Petrotoga. Os isolados foram identificados pelo sequenciamento do gene RNAr 16S, e um deles, o isolado MG414-03, foi submetido a testes de crescimento sob as variáveis temperatura, salinidade e fonte de carbono. MG414-03 pertence ao gênero Petrotoga, com similaridade de 99,2% com a espécie Petrotoga miotherma. Suas células têm forma de bastonete e são envolvidas por toga; são Gram-negativas; têm comprimento médio de 1,8±0,9 μm e largura média de 0,7±0,1 μm, podendo ser individuais ou formar filamentos. Motilidade foi observada em células individuais e em arranjos de dois. Endósporos não foram observados em nenhuma fase de crescimento. Forma colônias circulares lisas, com borda lisa, transparentes, com diâmetro máximo de 1,0 mm. O isolado apresentou temperatura e salinidade ótimas de 60ºC e 4%, respectivamente. Utiliza glicose, xilose, maltose e sacarose como fontes de carbono, mas não utiliza xilana e carboximetilcelulose (CMC). É inibido pelos antibióticos canamicina e cloranfenicol nas concentrações de 10 μg/mL e 100 μg/mL, respectivamente. As atividades enzimáticas sobre os substratos xilana e carboximetilcelulose (CMC) foram testadas para o isolado MG414-03 e para as linhagens Petrotoga mobilis-DSM10674 e Petrotoga mexicana-DSM14811. O método utilizado foi o ensaio colorimétrico com DNS (Ácido Dinitrossalicílico) e o isolado MG414-03 não apresentou atividade enzimática sobre os substratos testados. Petrotoga mobilis-DSM10674 e Petrotoga mexicana-DSM14811 foram utilizadas como padrões no ensaio pois ambas são descritas como produtoras de xilanases, fato confirmado pelos resultados apresentados no teste. Petrotoga mobilis-DSM10674 apresentou atividade enzimática sobre o CMC, na ordem de 73±18 U/L, fato não registrado na literatura para esta espécie. / Oil reservoirs are unique environments for having a combination of extreme conditions relating to temperature, pressure, salinity, and that support the growth of microorganisms. Several species of Domains Bacteria and Archaea have been recovered from oil reservoirs, especially the sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRB), methanogens and fermenters. The latter use as a carbon source a wide variety of organic compounds and a large fraction of the strains are members of the Phylum Thermotogae. Thermotogae species share a common characteristic: a balloon-like sheath or “toga” present outside the cell membrane. Some genera of the phylum have been exclusively recovered from oil reservoirs, as the genus Petrotoga. This study aimed to isolate and characterize strains members of Thermotogae from water/oil fluids of an onshore oil reservoir located in the Northeast of Brazil, in order to contributes to the knowledge of diversity and microbial metabolism of this type of environment. The reservoir has an average salinity of 7%, an average temperature of 60 º C, the pH of the fluid is between 6.6-6.8 and the average depth of the wells is 1,100 meters. Two culture media proposed in the literature for Petrotoga cultivation were tested: P-mexicana Medium and P. olearia medium. The media was prepared anaerobically under N2 flush and salinity adjusted for 70g/L NaCl. Aliquots from pre-existing enriched cultures were inoculated in those media and incubated at 60 º C. Both media proved be selective for Petrotoga strains. The isolates were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the isolate MG414-03 was tested for the growth under variables temperature, salinity and carbon source. MG414-03 belongs to the genus Petrotoga, with 99.2% similarity with Petrotoga miotherma species. Cells are rods, 1.8 (± 0.9) x 0.7 (± 0.1) μm in size, with an outer sheath-like structure (toga), occurring singly or in sheaths. It stains Gram-negative. Motility was observed in single or in double cells. No spore formation was detected. Colonies are circular, with a smooth edge, transparent, with a maximum diameter of 1.0 mm. Optimum salinity at 4% and optimum temperature at 60ºC. Ferments glucose, xylose, maltose and sucrose, but not xylan and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). It is inhibited by the antibiotics kanamycin and chloramphenicol at concentrations of 10 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL, respectively. The enzymatic activity on xylan and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were tested for isolate MG414-03, Petrotoga mobilis DSM10674 and Petrotoga Mexicana DSM14811. The method used was the colorimetric assay with DNS (dinitrosalicylic acid) and isolate MG414-03 showed no enzymatic activity on the tested substrates. Petrotoga mobilis DSM10674 and Petrotoga Mexicana DSM14811 were used as standards in the DNS assay, as both strains are described as xylanase producers, and this ability was confirmed by the results presented in the test. Petrotoga mobilis-DSM10674 showed enzymatic activity on CMC, of 73 ± 18 U/L, which was not recorded in the literature for this species.

Thesis (M.S.)--Universitetet i Bergen, 2003 / Hovedoppgave i matematikk - Universitetet i Bergen, 2003 II Title from document title page. Includes bibliographical references. Available in PDF format via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Australian School of Petroleum (ASP), 2004. / "February 2003" PhD (by publication). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 26, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-96).

A thesis Submitted to the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, 2016 / Wettability of a porous reservoir rock is an important factor that affects oil recovery during waterflooding. It is recognized as being important for multiphase properties. Understanding the variation of these properties in the field, due to wettability trends and different pore structures, is very critical for designing efficient and reliable processes and projects for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery. After primary drainage the reservoir wettability changes: if it was oil-wet initially, it gradually changes to water-wet during waterflooding. This change in reservoir wettability towards water-wet will reduce the residual oil saturation and improve the oil displacement efficiency. However, knowledge of the constitutive relationship between the pore scale descriptors of transport in the porous system is required to adequately describe wettability trend and its impact on oil recovery, particularly during waterflooding. In this work, the petrophysical properties that define fluid flow in the Agbada, Nigeria sandstone reservoir were determined using conventional experimental and x-ray CT scanning methods. Experimentally measured average porosity is 0.28, average permeability is 1699 mD, while the initial and irreducible water saturation is 0.22. Permeability in the x, y and z directions, ranging from 50 to 200 mD, were calculated from the pore network extracted from the Agbada sandstone rock. Results obtained from the Amott-Harvey wettability measurement method indicate that the reservoir is strongly water-wet, with Amott-Harvey index of about 0.9. The cross-over between the water and oil relative permeabilities occurred at saturations of the samples above 0.5, giving an indication of strong water-wetness. The work summarizes the mechanism of wettability alteration and characterizes the performance of the reservoir during waterflooding from injecting water, and relates the residual oil saturation, relative permeability and volumes of water injected to wettability and its effects on oil recovery. Waterflood oil recovery is computed using the Buckley-Leverett method based on the reservoir rock and fluid properties. Computed waterflood oil recovery using this method was about 60% of the oil initially in place. Plots of spontaneous imbibition rate show that the injection rate for optimal oil recovery is 40 bbls of injected water per day. At this rate, both the mobility and shock front mobility ratios are less than 1, leading to a stable flood front and absence of viscous fingering. Waterflooding is by far the most widely applied method of improved oil recovery over the years with good results in conventional and unconventional (tight oil) reservoirs It is relatively simple and cost effective: abundance and availability of water. Waterflood oil recovery factor is affected by internal and external factors. The placement of the injection and production wells, for example, impacts on the effectiveness of the waterflooding process. I considered the placement of the wells in a five-spot pattern as elements of an unbounded double periodic array of wells and assumed the reservoir to be homogeneous, infinite and isotropic, with constant porosity and permeability. Both fluids are treated as having slight but constant compressibility and their flow governed by Darcy’s law. The average pressure in the reservoir satisfies quasi-static flow or diffusion equation. I then assumed piston-like displacement of oil by injected water that takes account of viscosity diffence between both fluids and proposed a model based on the theory of elliptic functions, in particular Weierstrass p-functions functions. Oil-water contact movement, dimensionless time for water breakthrough at the production well, areal sweep and average reservoir pressures were modeled. The model was tested using Wolfram Mathematica 10 software and the results are promising. The thesis has therefore established that the Agbada sandstone reservoir is strongly water-wet and that waterflooding is a viable option for enhanced oil recovery from the reservoir. / MT2016

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wyoming, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 21, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-216).

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 130-135.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 149 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-124).

Chemical flooding is one of the most difficult enhanced oil recovery methods and was considered a high-risk process in the past. Some reasons are low and uncertain oil price, high chemical prices, lack of confidence in performance of the chemical flooding process, long project life, and reservoir and process uncertainties. However, with significant improvement in simulation and optimization tools and high oil price, chemical flooding is feasible in terms of economical and carefully implemented design. Optimization of chemical floods requires complex integration of reservoir, chemical, economics properties and also drilling and production strategies. Many of these variables are uncertain parameters and many simulations are required to capture the effect of the uncertain and decision variables. These simulations could become very expensive and may not be feasible to consider all of the required simulation models. The goal of this research is the development of a methodology for optimization and design of chemical flooding of candidate oil reservoirs. We performed a comprehensive sensitivity study of reservoir and fluid properties that have significant influence on the oil production during the chemical flooding by performing a series of reservoir simulation runs. For performing the reservoir simulation runs, this study used the UT_IRSP platform and the multiphase, multicomponent, chemical flooding simulator called UTCHEM. During the study, UT_IRSP and UTCHEM have been modified by adding new modules, functions and variables. For example, a deviated well module was implemented in UTCHEM to study deviated wells. Deviated well module allows the users to introduce deviated wells in reservoir and import the well locations similar to Eclipse or CMG simulators. A time-dependent well schedule module was implemented in the UT_IRSP framework. This enhancement allows the well placement optimization studies to find the best time to add new wells, and change the status of the well for example from a producer to an injector in order to have an optimum development plan. An advanced post processing module was added to UT_IRSP in order to design, screen, and optimize complex cases for chemical enhanced oil recovery processes such as investigating the well patterns, well spacing, and type of the well (horizontal vs. vertical wells). An experimental design and response surface methodology with integrated economic model were utilized in this study to obtain the optimum design under uncertainties and have an optimal combination of the decision variables. This methodology is based on applying multi-regression analysis and ANOVA (analysis of variance) between the objective function (i.e. dependent variable, which is net present value (NPV) in chemical flooding) and other uncertain and process variables (independent variables). The economic analysis model used the discounted cash flow method to calculate net present value at the economic life of process, internal rate of return, and growth rate of return for each simulation case. Also the optimizer, OptQuest, is launched with a goal of maximizing the mean NPV. The range and the risk associated with the optimum design was studied using Monte Carlo simulation of objective function of the response variable and other independent variables. This methodology was applied for complex chemical flood cases such as well placement, change of status of wells as a function of time or well pattern and well spacing to investigate the best well scenario from recovery and economics point of view. / text

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