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The Oil and Gas industry encompasses the production, transportation, and refining of crude oil and gas and the distribution of finished products to end users. Microbiological activity and growth can occur at various stages of this process and can cause very serious and costly implications.
Oil & Gas
The activity of certain bacteria in oil production wells can lead to oil reservoir souring which can impact product quality, increase the threat of infrastructure corrosion, and raise health and safety concerns. Microbial activity and growth in oil and gas pipelines and the associated infrastructure can result in extensive microbial corrosion which can impact the integrity of these systems.
Although refined fuels will be sterile, microbial growth by bacteria and fungi can develop in refinery storage tanks and at all subsequent points of the fuel supply and distribution chain and in end-user systems. This can impact the fuel’s fitness for purpose and cause severe operational problems.
Some of the key issues that microbiological contamination can cause in the Oil & Gas industry are outlined below.
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Get the latest Industry Guidance and Resources relating to Microbiological Contamination in the Oil & Gas Industry.
Below are links to a range of useful Guidance Documents published by the Energy Institute.
- Guidelines for the management of microbiologically influenced corrosion in oil and gas production, Energy Institute 2017.
- Guidelines on managing microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in water injection systems, Energy Institute, 2022.
- Health and safety issues in the oil industry related to sudden or unexpected generation of H2S by micro-organisms, 2015.
- Guidelines for the investigation of the microbial content of liquid fuels and for the implementation of avoidance and remedial strategies, 2019.
