Reactive Transport Model of Microbial Reservoir Souring and Remediation in Fractured Rock

Microorganisms mediate the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in oil bearing geological formations. H2S has detrimental impacts on oil production operations and can cause significant environmental and health problems. Oil reservoir souring results from coupled thermal, chemical, biological and hydrological interactions across a range of spatiotemporal scales. At the macroscale, fluid flows in the fractures and matrix determine the delivery of electron donors and acceptors to the microbes, and the flux of H2S throughout the reservoir. At the microscale, microbes reduce sulfate while oxidizing available electron donors for growth. Accumulation of the microbial biomass can in turn impact flows in the fractured geological formation. Understanding the processes that control the rates and patterns of sulfate reduction is a crucial step in developing a predictive understanding of reservoir souring and associated mitigation processes. Recently, a novel fractured sandstone experiment was conducted to explore souring and desouring (perchlorate treatment) across controlled thermal gradient (also in this session). In this work, a reactive transport model (RTM) of the fractured sandstone was developed. Observed spatiotemporal data from the fractured sandstone experiment such as tracer, thermal state, effluent sulfide, sulfate and perchlorate concentrations were used to constrain the model transport and reaction process rates. The model captured the spatiotemporal trends of the chemical species and microbial populations that emerged as a result of feedbacks between microbes, flow and the minerals. This work demonstrates modeling to be a powerful tool for elucidating the interacting factors governing biogenesis of H2S.