After traditional oil recovery processes, large amount of residual oil are still trapped in the pore spaces of the complex capillary network of the reservoir. MEOR (microbial enhanced oil recovery), a promising tertiary oil recovery method involves the utilization of indigenous microbial species capable of producing various secondary metabolites which further enhances the recovery of oil through their plugging, viscosity or interfacial tension reduction mechanisms. The chapter represents the overview of MEOR, mechanism involved in the process and field trials. Furthermore, microbial based mechanisms are widely demonstrated. The chapter confirms the credibility of MEOR process towards the enhanced oil recovery.
Part of the book: Enhanced Oil Recovery