Fracture Sealing with Microbially-Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation: A Field Study. 2016

Adrienne J Phillips, and Alfred B Cunningham, and Robin Gerlach, and Randy Hiebert, and Chiachi Hwang, and Bartholomeus P Lomans, and Joseph Westrich, and Cesar Mantilla, and Jim Kirksey, and Richard Esposito, and Lee Spangler
Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University , RM 366 EPS Building, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States.

A primary environmental risk from unconventional oil and gas development or carbon sequestration is subsurface fluid leakage in the near wellbore environment. A potential solution to remediate leakage pathways is to promote microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) to plug fractures and reduce permeability in porous materials. The advantage of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) over cement-based sealants is that the solutions used to promote MICP are aqueous. MICP solutions have low viscosities compared to cement, facilitating fluid transport into the formation. In this study, MICP was promoted in a fractured sandstone layer within the Fayette Sandstone Formation 340.8 m below ground surface using conventional oil field subsurface fluid delivery technologies (packer and bailer). After 24 urea/calcium solution and 6 microbial (Sporosarcina pasteurii) suspension injections, the injectivity was decreased (flow rate decreased from 1.9 to 0.47 L/min) and a reduction in the in-well pressure falloff (>30% before and 7% after treatment) was observed. In addition, during refracturing an increase in the fracture extension pressure was measured as compared to before MICP treatment. This study suggests MICP is a promising tool for sealing subsurface fractures in the near wellbore environment.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009009 Montana State bounded on the north by Canada, on the east by North Dakota and South Dakota, on the south by Idaho and Wyoming, and on the west by Idaho and Utah.
D011232 Chemical Precipitation The formation of a solid in a solution as a result of a chemical reaction or the aggregation of soluble substances into complexes large enough to fall out of solution. Precipitation, Chemical
D011312 Pressure A type of stress exerted uniformly in all directions. Its measure is the force exerted per unit area. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Pressures
D002119 Calcium Carbonate Carbonic acid calcium salt (CaCO3). An odorless, tasteless powder or crystal that occurs in nature. It is used therapeutically as a phosphate buffer in hemodialysis patients and as a calcium supplement. Aragonite,Calcite,Chalk,Limestone,Marble,Milk of Calcium,Vaterite,Calcium Milk,Carbonate, Calcium
D012212 Rheology The study of the deformation and flow of matter, usually liquids or fluids, and of the plastic flow of solids. The concept covers consistency, dilatancy, liquefaction, resistance to flow, shearing, thixotrophy, and VISCOSITY. Flowmetry,Velocimetry,Velocimetries
D014057 Tomography, X-Ray Computed Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image. CAT Scan, X-Ray,CT Scan, X-Ray,Cine-CT,Computerized Tomography, X-Ray,Electron Beam Computed Tomography,Tomodensitometry,Tomography, Transmission Computed,X-Ray Tomography, Computed,CAT Scan, X Ray,CT X Ray,Computed Tomography, X-Ray,Computed X Ray Tomography,Computerized Tomography, X Ray,Electron Beam Tomography,Tomography, X Ray Computed,Tomography, X-Ray Computer Assisted,Tomography, X-Ray Computerized,Tomography, X-Ray Computerized Axial,Tomography, Xray Computed,X Ray Computerized Tomography,X Ray Tomography, Computed,X-Ray Computer Assisted Tomography,X-Ray Computerized Axial Tomography,Beam Tomography, Electron,CAT Scans, X-Ray,CT Scan, X Ray,CT Scans, X-Ray,CT X Rays,Cine CT,Computed Tomography, Transmission,Computed Tomography, X Ray,Computed Tomography, Xray,Computed X-Ray Tomography,Scan, X-Ray CAT,Scan, X-Ray CT,Scans, X-Ray CAT,Scans, X-Ray CT,Tomographies, Computed X-Ray,Tomography, Computed X-Ray,Tomography, Electron Beam,Tomography, X Ray Computer Assisted,Tomography, X Ray Computerized,Tomography, X Ray Computerized Axial,Transmission Computed Tomography,X Ray Computer Assisted Tomography,X Ray Computerized Axial Tomography,X Ray, CT,X Rays, CT,X-Ray CAT Scan,X-Ray CAT Scans,X-Ray CT Scan,X-Ray CT Scans,X-Ray Computed Tomography,X-Ray Computerized Tomography,Xray Computed Tomography
D016062 Porosity Condition of having pores or open spaces. This often refers to bones, bone implants, or bone cements, but can refer to the porous state of any solid substance. Porosities
D058644 Sporosarcina A genus of endospore-forming bacteria in the family Planococcaceae. The species are strict or facultative anerobes.

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