Gary Jenneman

GJ Microbial Consulting LLC

Biofilms are widely recognised as a contributing factor in significant problems currently facing human health and industry. The following paper summarises a round table forum held at the 2021 International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Symposium which discussed the potential role of standards in biofilm research and industry innovation. Stand...

The present invention relates generally to the control of biogenic sulfide production. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, embodiments of the present invention concern the use of at least one ATP-reducing agent followed by at least one biocide to synergistically enhance the kill of microbes, such as sulfate-reducing microorganisms, ace...

The present invention relates generally to the control of biogenic sulfide production. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, embodiments of the present invention concern the use of at least one ATP-reducing agent followed by at least one biocide to synergistically enhance the kill of microbes, such as sulfate-reducing microorganisms, ace...

Upstream oil and gas systems are negatively impacted by microbial activities that produce hydrogen sulfide gas, enhance corrosion rates of metals, and cause costly damage to infrastructure through biofouling. Although alternatives to biocides such as sulfate removal membranes and corrosion resistant coatings and materials have been developed, bioci...

Hydrogen sulfide gas produced by sulfate reducing microorganisms (SRM) creates significant challenges in the petroleum industry including corrosion concerns, product devaluation, and significant health risks. Biocides and inhibitors are often employed to control these detrimental activities. Recently, co-injection of a synergistic blend of biocides...

In the Permian Basin, fresh water supplies are becoming increasingly scarce. Competition for fresh water and expensive trucking costs have driven up total well costs and placed strains on the supply of water for hydraulic fracturing. However, ample supply of produced water makes it a prime candidate for treatment and reuse. Initial water treatment...

Biogenic sulfide production is synergistically inhibited by treating sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) with a biocide and a metabolic inhibitor. The biocide directly kills a first portion of the SRB. The metabolic inhibitor inhibits sulfate-reducing growth of a second portion of the SRB without directly killing the second portion of the SRB. The trea...

A model flow cell system was designed to investigate pitting corrosion in pipelines associated with microbial communities. A microbial inoculum producing copious amounts of H2S was enriched from an oil pipeline biofilm sample. Reservoirs containing a nutrient solution and the microbial inoculum were pumped continuously through six flow cells contai...

Nitrate can control biogenic souring by lowering sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) metabolic activity and shifting the microbial community such that nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) out-compete SRB for nutrients. Nitrate was applied in a laboratory study using a 20-cc packed bed upflow reactor to determine kinetic rate of H2S removal. The objectives o...

A reservoir souring forecasting model was presented previously. This model utilized a generic algorithm to determine, via history match, the extent of H2S biogeneration by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) within the waterflooded reservoir such that the production to the surface could be forecasted. The generic algorithm assumed a decline in SRB-usab...

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a toxic, corrosive gas found in many oilfield production systems. While it can be indigenous to both gas and oil fields, it is also generated in real time within the reservoir by sulfate-reducing bacteria as a result of injecting sulfate-containing water during waterflood. Production of this biogenerated H2S is many times...

Description Glutaraldehyde is one of the few biocidal actives approved for use in North Sea operations, and has long been used to protect crude oil pipelines from microbial fouling. However, glutaraldehyde degradation has been observed in produced water (PW). In an effort to understand and control this degradation, stability tests were performed in...

Thiomicrospira strain CVO and Arcobacter strain FWKO B are two nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (NR-SOB) isolated from the Coleville field in western Canada. Analysis by reverse sample genome probing (RSGP) indicates that both can be enriched from Coleville produced water samples by addition of nitrate. Neither could be enriched from wa...

Film forming corrosion inhibitors are often selected to control CO2 corrosion and their effectiveness versus microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is desirable in systems that suffer from both forms of corrosion. Traditional corrosion inhibitor tests (e.g., bubble tests) have unfavorable conditions for microbial activity and are inadequate f...

A computer model has been developed to investigate the potential effects of water injection in an offshore oilfield on H2S biogeneration and its subsequent production from the reservoir. The model is based on mechanistic algorithms employed in previous reservoir souring models developed for the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River Fields (Alaska) and the...

Increasing concentrations of sodium nitrite were added to synthetic North Sea produced water in the presence of either 1 bar CO2 or N2 to determine its effect on corrosion. These tests were run at 80°C in the presence of sulfide and at a sheer stress up to 25 Pa. The test materials were either A106 carbon steel or duplex stainless steel, representi...

Thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria (tSRB) can be major contributors to the production of H(2)S (souring) in oil reservoirs. Two tSRB enrichments from a North Sea oil field, NS-tSRB1 and NS-tSRB2, were obtained at 58 degrees C with acetate-propionate-butyrate and with lactate as the electron donor, respectively. Analysis by rDNA sequencing indic...

The production of sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in oil and gas fields causes problems including enhanced corrosion risk, reservoir plugging and deterioration of product quality. Injection of nitrate or nitrite stimulates heterotrophic nitrate-reducing bacteria (hNRB), which compete with SRB for oil organics, such as volatile fatty acid...

MICs of six broad-spectrum biocides and two specific metabolic inhibitors and fractional inhibitory concentration indexes (FICIs) for controlling a sulfide-producing consortium were determined. Nitrite was synergistic (FICI < 1) with all but one biocide due to its specific inhibition of dissimilatory sulfite reductase. Hence, combining nitrite with...

Bacterial contamination in large circulating oil systems in steam turbines can clog control systems, degrade oil quality and performance, and produce corrosive byproducts effecting the whole electrical power generation system that account for 60% of the US electrical power demand. Bacterial contamination in petroleum products can be broadly classif...

Hydrogen sulfide production by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in oil fields (souring) can be eliminated through tOhe activity of nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB). Two distinct classes of NRB have been described. The heterotrophic NRB (hNRB) reduce nitrate using similar oil organics as used by SRB for the reduction of sulfate. These inhibit SRB by c...

Souring, the production of hydrogen sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in oil reservoirs, can be controlled through nitrate or nitrite addition. To assess the effects of this containment approach on corrosion, metal coupons were installed in up-flow packed-bed bioreactors fed with medium containing 8 mM sulfate and 25 mM lactate. Following...

Approximately half of the reserve gas in the U.S. is subquality, meaning it contains contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or carbon dioxide. One of the most common problems in the gas industry is the removal and disposal of H2S also known as natural gas desulfurization or sweetening of sour gas. Many traditional methods of H2S removal are co...

Bacterial contamination of large circulating oil systems in steam turbines, paper machines and similar systems is a growing and expensive problem. The bacterial colonies, once established, clog control systems, quickly degrade oil quality and oil performance and produce corrosive byproducts. If not detected early, the problem will manifest itself i...

This paper presents a mechanistic approach to modeling the reservoir souring process in the Ekofisk Field, located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea with over 6 billion STB OOIP and currently producing about 300,000 BOPD and injecting around 500,000 BWPD sea water. The objectives of this study were to determine if observed increases in H2S c...

Successful application of both nitrate and nitrite to combat souring in oil fields was presented. Using up-flow, packed-bed bioreactors simulating an oil field, both nitrate and nitrite were effective sulfide removers. The required dose depended on the concentration of oil organics used as the energy source by the microbial community. Because of it...

Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) can be inhibited by nitrate-reducing, sulphide-oxidizing bacteria (NR-SOB), despite the fact that these two groups are interdependent in many anaerobic environments. Practical applications of this inhibition include the reduction of sulphide concentrations in oil fields by nitrate injection. The NR-SOB Thiomicrospir...

Produced water from the Coleville oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada was used to inoculate continuous up-flow packed-bed bioreactors. When 7.8 mM sulfate and 25 mM lactate were present in the in-flowing medium, H(2)S production (souring) by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) was prevented by addition of 17.5 mM nitrate or 20 mM nitrite. Changing the su...

Sulfide removal is a significant problem in the oil and gas industry. Some of the problems presented by sulfides include environmental compliance, toxicity, corrosion, reduced efficiency of fluid handling equipment, offensive odor, reduced value of products, and increased operation costs. Microbial oxidation of sulfides offers the potential for a s...

Nitrate- and nitrite-mediated containment of souring was studied in continuous up-flow packed-bed bioreactors. Produced water of the Coleville oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada, was used as an inoculum for establishing biofilms of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). With a medium containing 12 mM sulfate and 25 mM Nalactate (10-11 mM produced sulfide)...

The effect of microbial control of souring on the extent of corrosion was studied in a model system consisting of pure cultures of the nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacterium (NR-SOB) Thiomicrospira sp. strain CVO and the sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) Desulfovibrio sp. strain Lac6, as well as in an SRB consortium enriched from produced wat...

Microbial control of biogenic production of hydrogen sulfide in oil fields was studied in a model system consisting of pure cultures of the nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacterium (NR-SOB) Thiomicrospira sp. strain CVO and the sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) Desulfovibrio sp. strain Lac6, as well as in microbial cultures enriched from produc...

The effects of the metabolic inhibitors, sodium nitrite and ammonium molybdate, on production of H2S by a pure culture of the sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) Desulfovibrio sp. strain Lac6 and a consortium of SRB, enriched from produced water of a Canadian oil field, were investigated. Addition of 0.1 mM nitrite or 0.024 mM molybdate at the start o...

It has been demonstrated that an enrichment culture dominated by Thiomicrospira sp. CVO may be cultured on H2S(g) as an energy source under sulfide-limiting conditions in suspended culture with nitrate as the electron acceptor. Hydrogen sulfide (10,000 ppmv) was completely removed from the feed gas and oxidized to sulfate in <3 s of gas-liquid cont...

Growth of Leuconostoc mesenteroides in a synthetic sucrose-based medium resulted in production of rigid, bulk dextran gels, whereas, growth on a beet-molasses medium produced loose, colloidal gels. Addition of inexpensive protein hydrolysates to the synthetic medium allowed for formation of the best bulk gels. Bulk gel formation was favored by incr...

Bacterial strains CVO and FWKO B were isolated from produced brine at the Coleville oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada. Both strains are obligate chemolithotrophs, with hydrogen, formate, and sulfide serving as the only known energy sources for FWKO B, whereas sulfide and elemental sulfur are the only known electron donors for CVO. Neither strain us...

Laboratory core floods in highly permeable ceramic and sandstone field cores (1 - 2 μm2) were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of biogenic, bulk dextran gels at reducing indepth permeability. Nutrient formulation, bacteria type, bacteria growth stage, and bacteria concentration were found to influence bulk gel formation. Growth of Leuconostoc...

Thiomicrospira strain CVO and Arcobacter strain FWKO B are two nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (NR-SOB) isolated from the Coleville field in western Canada. Analysis by reverse sample genome probing (RSGP) indicates that both can be enriched from Coleville produced water samples by addition of nitrate. Neither could be enriched from wa...

A field test was performed at the Coleville field to evaluate the ability of indigenous bacteria to remove sulfides from reservoir brine. Ammonium nitrate and sodium phosphate were injected continuously at two injectors for nearly 50 days. Sulfide levels at the two injectors declined by 42 to 100% and by as much as 50 to 60% at two adjacent produce...

On Feb 17, 2000 this sequence version replaced gi:4927271.

On Feb 16, 2000 this sequence version replaced gi:4927270.

Production of biomass by indigenous bacteria found in hypersaline oil‐reservoir brine was limited by a fermentable carbon and phosphorus source. The addition of polymeric carbohydrates, such as maltodextrins, along with organic phosphates stimulated production of a flocculent and sometimes slimy biomass, which was not produced from simple sugars. M...

Microbial systems have proven to be low-cost, environmentally safe methods for improved oil recovery. In profile modification treatments, plugging of high permeability layers of the reservoir is desirable. Microbes that produce polymers, biomass, and slimes have been shown to reduce the high permeability zones of reservoirs. A key component for imp...

A field test was performed at the Coleville field in Western Saskatchewan, Canada to evaluate the ability of indigenous bacteria to remove sulfide in produced brine. As much as 400 mg/L ammonium nitrate and 12 mg/L monosodium phosphate was co-injected upstream of two adjacent injectors over a 50 day period. Within ten days of injection, sulfide lev...

The reverse sample genome probe (RSGP) method, developed for monitoring the microbial community in oil fields with a moderate subsurface temperature, has been improved by (i) isolation of a variety of heterotrophic bacteria and inclusion of their genomes on the oil field master filter and (ii) use of phosphorimaging technology for the rapid quantit...

Microbial enhanced-oil-recovery (MEOR) nutrients were injected in an injection well at North Burbank unit (NBU) in Oklahoma to plug off high-permeability layers through the growth of indigenous microorganisms and to divert injection fluid to lower-permeability, higher-oil-saturation zones. Several different types of treatments were performed using...

When applying MEOR in a waterflooded oil reservoir, it is desirable to stimulate the required biological effect (i.e., biosurfactant production, selective plugging or gas production) distal from the wellbore, thereby enhancing areal and vertical sweep efficiency. Current methodology of injecting a complete growth media (e.g. molasses) allows excess...

Most laboratory work in MEOR, both in screening and in development, is performed under in situ temperatures and in brines similar to those of the target reservoir. However, the effect of In situ pore pressures in such work is normally ignored. Much of our understanding of the effects of hydrostatic pressure on microorganisms comes from studies of m...

This patent describes a method of injecting microbial nutrients into a subterranean formation for achieving a desired in-situ microbial objective. It comprises the step of sequentially injecting, in order of decreasing quantitative formation retainability, sources of individual nutrient components which are deficient in the subterranean formation s...

This chapter discusses limitations of the application of microbial in situ processes. In the in-situ microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), the reservoir becomes the fermentor for the production of the oil-releasing material. In an above ground fermentation, a microorganism is chosen for its ability to produce the material sought. The microorganis...

The biological factors important in the penetration of Escherichia coli through anaerobic, nutrient-saturated, Ottawa sand-packed cores were studied under static conditions. In cores saturated with galactose-peptone medium, motile strains of E. coli penetrated four times faster than mutants defective only in flagellar synthesis. Motile, nonchemotac...

The biological factors important in the penetration of Escherichia coli through anaerobic, nutrient-saturated, Ottawa sand-packed cores were studied under static conditions. In cores saturated with galactose-peptone medium, motile strains of E. coli penetrated four times faster than mutants defective only in flagellar synthesis. Motile, nonchemotac...

The depth of plugging by the in situ growth of either injected or indigenous microorganisms was investigated using Berea sandstone cores with pressure taps located along the length of the core. The continuous injection of aerobically prepared sucrose-mineral salts medium with 5% NaCl and 0.1% NaNO3 resulted in large permeability reductions (70–98%)...

The addition of 59 mM nitrate inhibited biogenic sulfide production in dilute sewage sludge (10% [vol/vol]) amended with 20 mM sulfate and either acetate, glucose, or hydrogen as electron donors. Similar results were found when pond sediment or oil field brines served as the inoculum. Sulfide production was inhibited for periods of at least 6 month...

Over 200 bacterial strains were selected for anaerobic growth at 50 degrees C and extracellular polysaccharide production in a sucrose-mineral salts medium with NaNO(3) and up to 10% NaCl. The predominant cell type was an encapsulated gram-positive, motile, facultative sporeforming rod similar to Bacillus species. Strain SP018 grew and produced the...

A method was developed to detect NO- or N(2)O-producing bacteria in solid or liquid medium by their ability to oxidize the redox indicator resazurin from its reduced colorless form to its oxidized pink form. The method was sensitive to as little as 35 nM N(2)O or 0.5 nM NO. Ninety-one percent of the colonies that oxidized resazurin on plates also p...

A study was undertaken to determine why bacteria could penetrate lengths of consolidated sandstone (Berea) faster when the sandstone was sterilized by autoclaving than when dry heat (150 degrees C, 3 h) was used. Changes in permeability, porosity, and pore entrance size of the rock as a result of autoclaving were not sufficient to explain the diffe...

The in situ growth of microorganisms in Berea sandstone cores preferentially plugged the larger pore entrances. The largest pore entrance sizes after microbial plugging ranged from 20 to 38 μm, compared with 59 to 69 μm before plugging. The pore entrance size distribution of plugged cores was shifted to smaller sizes. A mathematical model based on...

Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 anaerobically produced a biosurfactant when grown in a glucose-mineral salts medium containing yeast extract and NaNO(3). Surface tension of the medium was reduced from 70 to 74 mN/m to as low as 28 mN/m due to the production of an anionic biosurfactant.

A method for oil recovery enhancement by stimulating the growth of indigenous microbial populations in sandstones by nutrient injection was investigated. Incremental oil recovery from the cores ranged from 10–38% of the original oil in place. Volumetric and microscopic sweep efficiency was improved by the microbial selective plugging process. Bioge...

Penetration times and penetration rates for a motile Bacillus strain growing in nutrient-saturated Berea sandstone cores were determined. The rate of penetration was essentially independent of permeabilities above 100 mdarcys and rapidly declined for permeabilities below 100 mdarcys. It was found that these penetration rates could be grouped into t...

A pure culture of Bacillus licheniformis strain JF-2 (ATCC No. 39307) and a process for using said culture and the surfactant lichenysin produced thereby for the enhancement of oil recovery from subterranean formations. Lichenysin is an effective surfactant over a wide range of temperatures, pH's, salt and calcium concentrations.

Experiments were conducted to study the feasibility of using microorganisms in EOR. particularly for the correction of permeability variation. The use of microorganisms requires the ability to transport viable cells as well as the nutrients required for cellular growth through reservoir formations. Nutrients such as glucose, peptone-protein, and ph...

A biosurfactant-producing Bacillus licheniformis was isolated from oil-field injection water with properties potentially useful for in situ enhanced oil recovery. Conventional miscible flooding procedures use expensive synthetic detergents such as petroleum sulfonates that precipitate in high NaCl brines and adsorb to rock surfaces. The Bacillus sp...

Interest inbiosurfactants hasincreased because oftheir potential applications inenhanced oilrecovery andasspe- cialty chemicals. Many microorganisms produce biosurfactants (8,19,22), andseveral ofthese biosurfactants havebeenfound tosignificantly reduce theinterfacial ten- sion between oilandbrine toless than0.01mN/im(10, 19), making thempotential...

Amethod wasdeveloped todetect NO-orN20-producing bacteria insolid orliquid mediumbytheir ability tooxidize theredox indicator resazurin fromits reduced colorless formtoits oxidized pink form. Themethod wassensitive toaslittle as35nM N20or0.5nMNO.Ninety-one percent ofthecolonies that oxidized resazurin onplates also produced N20inslant cultures. For...

Subterranean paths of water flow are impeded or changed by the facilitation of microbial growth therein. Either indigenous bacterial growth may be stimulated with nutrients or the formation may be first seeded with bacteria or their spores which inhibit fluid flow after proliferation. These methods and bacteria are usable to alter the flow of water...

Penetration times, and penetration rates, for a motile Bacillus strain growing in nutrient-saturated Berea sandstone cores were determined. The rate of penetration was essentially independent of permeability above 100 mD and rapidly declined for permeabilities below 100 mD. The maximum observed penetration rate was 0.47 cm/h and the slowest was 0.0...

Twenty-two isolates were obtained that produced bioemulsifiers or biopolymers when grown in a sucrose, 5% NaCl mineral salts medium at 50 C. Biopolymers were produced aerobically and anaerobically. Bacillus licheniformis, strain JF-2 cultures had the lowest surface tensions of the eleven bioemulsifer-producing isolates tested. Growth of strain JF-2...

The cycling of sulfur in oil field brines has focused predominantly on bacteria involved in the reduction of sulfur species to sulfides, which are detrimental to the production of these fields. However, recent interest in the addition of nitrates and nitrites to oil field brines for the remediation and control of sulfides has rekindled new interest...

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oklahoma.