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Deep Subsurface Oil Reservoirs as Poly-extreme Habitats for Microbial Life. A Current Review

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Polyextremophiles

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 27))

Abstract

Oil reservoirs located deep within the earth crust represent one of the most challenging environments for life, usually providing combinations of high temperatures and pressures, as well as high concentrations of salts, heavy metals, and organic solvents. Organisms thriving in such environments, therefore, have to be truly poly-extremophiles, adapted to conditions otherwise very hostile to life. In spite of this, research carried out in many groups worldwide throughout the past decades has revealed that deep subsurface oil reservoirs indeed are populated by diverse consortia of poly-extremophilic Bacteria and Archaea. Numerous sites on all continents have been sampled in search for novel species and strains to describe and compare microbial consortia and to understand biological processes that might occur in response to and possibly interfere with an efficient oil production. In addition, the special adaptations of oil reservoir microbes to their extreme environments have rendered them highly attractive for bioprospecting approaches for novel enzymes and metabolites with potential industrial value.

In this chapter, we provide a current status overview of subsurface oil reservoir microbiology research, covering sites with in situ temperatures of 50 °C and higher. We also discuss the challenge of representative sampling and contamination issues affecting research results and derived conclusions. Further, the current understanding of metabolic capabilities predominant in oil reservoir communities is discussed, including the challenges these communities provide in oil production and their potential with respect to Biologically activated Enhanced Oil Recovery (Bio-EOR) and other industrial applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway (grant numbers 187317/S30 and 208541/O10) and Statoil ASA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Sem Sælandsvei 2a, 7465, Trondheim, Norway

    Alexander Wentzel

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Sem Sælandsvei 6–8, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Anna Lewin & Svein Valla

  3. División de Ciencias Ambientales, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICyT), Camino a la Presa San José 2055, Col. Lomas 4ª. Sección, San Luis Potosí, SLP 78216, Mexico

    Francisco J. Cervantes

  4. Statoil ASA, 7053, Ranheim, Norway

    Hans Kristian Kotlar

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  1. Alexander Wentzel
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Correspondence to Alexander Wentzel .

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  1. The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

  2. Dept. of Plant and Env. Sciences, Institute of Life Sciences The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Aharon Oren

  3. Dept. Mikrobiology, Universität Salzburg FB Molekulare Biologie, Salzburg, Austria

    Helga Stan-Lotter

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Wentzel, A., Lewin, A., Cervantes, F.J., Valla, S., Kotlar, H.K. (2013). Deep Subsurface Oil Reservoirs as Poly-extreme Habitats for Microbial Life. A Current Review. In: Seckbach, J., Oren, A., Stan-Lotter, H. (eds) Polyextremophiles. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6488-0_19

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