Biofilm Management for the Oil Industry

Oil companies in the oil and gas industry are faced with major biofouling and biocorrosion problems that each year cost billions of US dollars. Bacteria organized in biofilms are major causative agents in these scenarios. One important aspect in the forma tion of biofilms is the required communication between microorganisms, also known as Quorum Sensing (QS). Interfering with this communication to disrupt or prevent biofilms would provide an elegant solution with minimum adverse effects to the environment. An example is furanones discovered in the Australian red algae Delisea pulchra, which effectively keeps the algae free from biofouling. In this project, we propose to further test synthetic thiophenones (TF), a related group of molecules, which has recen tly been shown by the University of Oslo to have improved anti-QS efficacy compared to furanones. TF molecules in solution or immobilized on surfaces, will be tested alone and in combination with other treatment methods, i.e. biocides and nitrate. The fir st task will be to develop two representative biofilm model systems which will be used for testing TF and other compounds with the purpose of developing effective and more environmentally friendly methods to control biofilms. As biofilm requires water fo r development, they are found in Produced Water Reinjection and Sea Water Injection during Increased Oil Recovery (IOR) operations. In this project both anaerobic and aerobic biofilm models will be developed and used for developing and testing new biofilm control strategies. Maturing production fields, as is the case for the Norwegian continental shelf, are expected to have increased water production (PW) and use (IOR). Hence, we can expect increased associated environmental impact as well as microbiologi cal activity to manage. We therefore believe that this project will form a solid basis for addressing the increasing challenges posed by bacterial control related to water management in the oil & gas industries.