Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) have been found to be the most troublesome group of microorganisms involved in microbial induced corrosion (MIC) of carbon steel and other metals used in the oil and gas industry. Uncontrolled growth of microorganisms in the oil field production systems has a major negative impact on the productivity and asset integrity. For monitoring microbial SRB populations, the conventional NACE-TM0194 method; based on the most probable number theory (MPN) and serial dilution technique, is still followed where it can take up to 28 days to be completed. Thus, there is an interest in having a rapid and inexpensive method to assess the presence of SRB in different environments for the control of MIC and also for taking mitigation measures like the biocide injection. In this study, a commercial rapid sulfate reducing bacteria monitoring solution was applied as a novel strategy on water samples produced by Ghawar Field under Southern Area Oil Operations (SAOO) in Saudi Arabia, where we have compared this modern technique with the conventional MPN method. The comparative analysis showed that rapid SRB detection pouch technology can be implemented in quantifying SRB bacteria in all clean water systems including sea water, ground water, fire tank water, and cooling water where H2S is not present. The technology is showing a good correlation with the traditional MPN method with major advantages, such as reducing the time-to-result to three days, achieving cost saving, excellent tool to examine the effectiveness of biocide, the pouch formulation will work on all salinity (Total Dissolved Solids) levels, no interference from common oil field chemicals except H2S, easy to handle and easy to train.

Subject
Water, Correlation, Bacterial growth, Corrosion detection, Incubation, Bacteria, Oilfields, Biocides, Microorganisms, Microbiologically influenced corrosion, Samples, Sampling, Oil
Keywords:
Sulfate-reducing bacteria, SRB, microbiologically-influenced corrosion, MIC, bacterial growth detection and monitoring, serial dilution technique
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2022
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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