title: Fracture Sealing with Microbially-Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation: A Field Study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University , RM 366 EPS Building, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States.
authors.forename: Adrienne J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University , RM 366 EPS Building, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States.
authors.forename: Alfred B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University , RM 366 EPS Building, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gerlach
authors.affiliation: Montana Emergent Technologies , 160 W. Granite Street, Butte, Montana 59701, United States.
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hiebert
authors.affiliation: Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University , RM 366 EPS Building, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States.
authors.forename: Chiachi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Shell Global Solution International B.V. , Kessler Park 1, 2288 GS Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bartholomeus P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Lomans
authors.affiliation: Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. 3333 Highway 6 South, Houston, Texas 77025, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westrich
authors.affiliation: Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. 3333 Highway 6 South, Houston, Texas 77025, United States.
authors.forename: Cesar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mantilla
authors.affiliation: Loudon Technical Services LLC , 1611 Loudon Heights Road, Charleston, West Virginia 25314, United States.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kirksey
authors.affiliation: Southern Company , P.O. Box 2641, BIN 14N-8195, Birmingham, Alabama 35291-8195, United States.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Energy Research Institute, Montana State University , P.O. Box 172465, Bozeman, Montana 59717, United States.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spangler
mesh_terms: D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D009009:Montana; D016062:Porosity; D011312:Pressure; D012212:Rheology; D058644:Sporosarcina / Q000378:metabolism*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002119:Calcium Carbonate