Bacteria and other microorganisms have been a concern to oil and gas operations, as they can contribute to fouling and corrosion. Monitoring for these microbes using culture methods and mitigation by treating with biocide has been the current standard. However, the methods of detection have become dated. Current methods require time to culture the organism for detection. This can be an issue, as about 99% of microbes can’t be cultured currently and it can take 26-28 days to get results for those that can be cultured. This need to detect more microbes in real time has lead to development of molecular methods, which can provide comprehensive detection results much faster. Faster detection means a faster response to microbially influenced corrosion or fouling. This presentation will provide an overview of damage caused by microorganisms in the oil & gas industry, current detection methods, and new emerging molecular detection methods.

Primary Author / Conference Presenter:
Vince Sandifer
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma, USA