Statoil: Prized bacteria

07-03-2002: The Norne licence in the Norwegian Sea and Statoil specialist Egil Sunde have jointly won the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate's improved oil recovery (IOR) prize for 2001 today, 7 March.

Mr Sunde is honoured for his development of the microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) method for extracting more of the stock tank oil originally in place (Stooip) in a reservoir.

This solution utilises bacterial processes to help "wash" oil out of the pore system in the reservoir rock more effectively than with water injection alone.

"Hopefully, the NPD award will help to increase awareness of the method and the opportunities which it offers," Mr Sunde comments.

He has played a leading role in research on various applications for microbes over the past 10 years. His work on MEOR embraces both laboratory tests and field trials in Austria.

These efforts have demonstrated what happens in the reservoir when the bacteria are provided with nutrients, and what effect the system could have.

The Norne licence shares the prize with him because the method is being adopted on this Statoil-operated field.