Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) is the use of microbes down oil wells in order to enhance the production of marginal oil wells. Most conventional oil recovery processes are only able to retrieve approximately 50% of the available oil in the area. The utilization of this process can extend the life of the average well without increasing excessive lifting costs.

MEOR is a tertiary recovery process in which specialized microbes, calculated inorganic nutrients, and oxygen are introduced into the oil bearing geological reservoir in quantities that allow the microbes to remove the remaining oil into the water phase. This will only work where there is a water phase present. The microbes (using the nutrients and oxygen) grow in the interface between the oil and the rock, and release the oil by 3 processes, which are regulated by the rate of biological process.

• The microbes oxidize the oil to fatty acids which act as detergents.
• The by-product of small amounts of CO_2, due to the beta oxidation of the fatty acids, acts as a gas drive.
• The increase of biomass between the oil and the rock physically displaces the oil.

As flushing occurs, the application of microbes, nutrients, and oxygen is a continual intermittent process. The intervals of time are dependent on the well depth, type of oil, water produced, and geological structure. As a biological process, temperature is limiting. Therefore, well depth for applications will vary with the bottom hole temperature a normal limit is 180F.

Many years of field application in various reservoirs and oil types has demonstrated that these materials do not interfere with the refining process. In many oil fields, the continual activity of the flushed microbes reduces the residual water in the separated oil and eliminates hydrogen sulfide and corrosion processes.

This process is currently used in the U.S.A, Mexico, Venezuela, and Trinidad.

The Oppenheimer Formula is an active ingredient in this product. It contains naturally occurring microbes packaged in an inert dry organic base that rapidly digest, and convert the organic matter into non-toxic materials. See M.S.D.S. for more information.