Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities
Insufficient understanding of the microbial communities and associated microbial processes in geological reservoirs hinders the utilization of this rich data source for improved resource management. In this study, along with four interwell tracer tests at a 1478-m deep fractured crystalline-rock aqu...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/18/2921 |
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| author | Yuran Zhang Anne E. Dekas Adam J. Hawkins John Carlo Primo Oxana Gorbatenko Roland N. Horne |
| author_facet | Yuran Zhang Anne E. Dekas Adam J. Hawkins John Carlo Primo Oxana Gorbatenko Roland N. Horne |
| author_sort | Yuran Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Insufficient understanding of the microbial communities and associated microbial processes in geological reservoirs hinders the utilization of this rich data source for improved resource management. In this study, along with four interwell tracer tests at a 1478-m deep fractured crystalline-rock aquifer, we analyzed the microbial communities in the injected and produced water by high-throughput sequencing. The microbial community similarities across boreholes during an interwell flow scenario frequently encountered in reservoir development was explored. Despite the significant tracer recoveries (~30%) in all tracer tests and the cumulatively >100,000 L of exogenous water (carrying exogenous microbes) injected into the 10-m-scale reservoir, the overall structure of produced-fluid microbiome did not increasingly resemble that of the injectate. However, producers with better connectivity with the injector (based on tracer test results) did have more amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) that overlapped with those in the injectate. We identified possible drivers behind our observations and verified the practicality of repeated microbial sampling in the context of reservoir characterization and long-term monitoring. We highlight that injector-producer microbial profiling could provide insights on the relative connectivities across different producers with a given injector, and that the associated logistical needs may be comparable or even less than that of classic tracer tests. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:10:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-511a9ed02bf64e0ca6d9b4c1c02deec8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:10:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-511a9ed02bf64e0ca6d9b4c1c02deec82023-11-23T19:32:21ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-09-011418292110.3390/w14182921Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell ConnectivitiesYuran Zhang0Anne E. Dekas1Adam J. Hawkins2John Carlo Primo3Oxana Gorbatenko4Roland N. Horne5Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaDepartment of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USADepartment of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USALawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USASchool of Natural Sciences, Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD 57799, USADepartment of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USAInsufficient understanding of the microbial communities and associated microbial processes in geological reservoirs hinders the utilization of this rich data source for improved resource management. In this study, along with four interwell tracer tests at a 1478-m deep fractured crystalline-rock aquifer, we analyzed the microbial communities in the injected and produced water by high-throughput sequencing. The microbial community similarities across boreholes during an interwell flow scenario frequently encountered in reservoir development was explored. Despite the significant tracer recoveries (~30%) in all tracer tests and the cumulatively >100,000 L of exogenous water (carrying exogenous microbes) injected into the 10-m-scale reservoir, the overall structure of produced-fluid microbiome did not increasingly resemble that of the injectate. However, producers with better connectivity with the injector (based on tracer test results) did have more amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) that overlapped with those in the injectate. We identified possible drivers behind our observations and verified the practicality of repeated microbial sampling in the context of reservoir characterization and long-term monitoring. We highlight that injector-producer microbial profiling could provide insights on the relative connectivities across different producers with a given injector, and that the associated logistical needs may be comparable or even less than that of classic tracer tests.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/18/2921reservoir characterizationtracer testmicrobial communitymicrobial profilingdeep subsurfacefractured rock |
| spellingShingle | Yuran Zhang Anne E. Dekas Adam J. Hawkins John Carlo Primo Oxana Gorbatenko Roland N. Horne Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities Water reservoir characterization tracer test microbial community microbial profiling deep subsurface fractured rock |
| title | Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities |
| title_full | Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities |
| title_short | Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities |
| title_sort | comparison of microbial profiling and tracer testing for the characterization of injector producer interwell connectivities |
| topic | reservoir characterization tracer test microbial community microbial profiling deep subsurface fractured rock |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/18/2921 |
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