Anaerobic microbial communities and their potential for bioenergy production in heavily biodegraded petroleum reservoirs.

Most of the oil in low temperature, non-uplifted reservoirs is biodegraded due to millions of years of microbial activity, including via methanogenesis from crude oil. To evaluate stimulating additional methanogenesis in already heavily biodegraded oil reservoirs, oil sands samples were amended with nutrients and electron acceptors, but oil sands bitumen was the only organic substrate. Methane production was monitored for over 3000 days.

Volatile hydrocarbons inhibit methanogenic crude oil degradation.

Methanogenic degradation of crude oil in subsurface sediments occurs slowly, but without the need for exogenous electron acceptors, is sustained for long periods and has enormous economic and environmental consequences. Here we show that volatile hydrocarbons are inhibitory to methanogenic oil biodegradation by comparing degradation of an artificially weathered crude oil with volatile hydrocarbons removed, with the same oil that was not weathered. Volatile hydrocarbons (nC5-nC10, methylcyclohexane, benzene, toluene, and xylenes) were quantified in the headspace of microcosms.

Anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation in deep subsurface oil reservoirs.

Biodegradation of crude oil in subsurface petroleum reservoirs is an important alteration process with major economic consequences. Aerobic degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at the surface is well documented and it has long been thought that the flow of oxygen- and nutrient-bearing meteoric waters into reservoirs was necessary for in-reservoir petroleum biodegradation. The occurrence of biodegraded oils in reservoirs where aerobic conditions are unlikely, together with the identification of several anaerobic microorganisms in oil fields and the discovery of anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation mechanisms, suggests that anaerobic degradation processes could also be responsible.