Reservoir Microbiology Forum (RMF) 2023

Conference

15/11/2023 - 16/11/2023

Hybrid - 61 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 7AR / Online

Non-Member: £499.00 (excl. VAT)
Member: £299.00 (excl. VAT)

New programme now announced.

The RMF is an excellent multi-disciplinary platform that brings together oil producers, scientists, technologists, engineers, academics, and researchers from around the world to present, share, and discuss the widespread and versatile effects of microbes in oil reservoirs. This respected forum provides a highly technical programme featuring the latest research and guidance on reservoir microbiology in oil fields, including biodegradation, bioremediation, and applications for oil recovery and enhancement.

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RMF Conference Programme

Day 1 –  Wednesday 15 November 2023

08:00   Registration and networking

09:00    Welcome to the conference

09:10    Keynote: The case for reference organisms in the study of MIC

             Moderator: Lisa Gieg PhD, Associate Professor & Associate Head (Undergraduates), Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary
             Dennis Enning, Professor of Industrial Microbiology, Berlin University of Applied Sciences and Technology

Session 1: Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (fundamentals, mitigation strategies, modelling, and prediction)

09:45    Session Welcome Remarks

              Lisa Gieg PhD, Associate Professor & Associate Head (Undergraduates), Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary

09:50    Microbially-influenced corrosion in hypersaline oil field operations

             Sven Lahme, Senior Research Engineer, ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company

10:15    Insights into the mechanisms by which Shewanella spp. induce steel corrosion              

             Sarah Alaqeel, Senior Scientist, Saudi Aramco

10:40    Refreshment Break

11:05    Development of a model system to investigate the effects of surface roughness and media on marine biofilm formation and microbiologically influenced corrosion

              Liam Jones, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Southampton

11:05    Develop a computational model to predict biocorrosion progression in oil and gas industry

             Dr Jo Philips, Assistant Professor, Aarhus University

11:55    Panel session  

12:15    Lunch

Session 2: Microbiological aspects of Hydrogen and CO2 Transport and Storage

13:15   Session Welcome Remarks

             Bart Lomans, Principal Production Chemist - Upstream Microbiologist, Bio-for-Upstream Program Lead, SME – Microbial Influenced Corrosion (MIC) & Biomonitoring, SME – Microbiology & Reservoir            Souring, Global Water Flood Team – Development & Subsurface Excellence – UPV/S/PF, Shell

13:20    Best practices for high-pressure and high-temperature experimentation to determine the microbial risks for underground hydrogen storage

             Dr James Dykstra, Upstream Microbiologist, Shell Global Solutions International BV

13:45    Assessment of high-pressure microbial activity in a potential H2 storage site: A case study of Dutch salt caverns

             Adrian Hidalgo-Ulloa, Postdoctoral Researcher, Wageningen University

14:10    Hydrogenase diversity in oil reservoirs and other subsurface habitats being considered for underground hydrogen storage.                                          

             Dr Daniel Gittins, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley

14:35    Break

14:55    Modelling of Interplay between Microbial Activity and Geochemistry during Underground Hydrogen Storage

              Ahmadreza Shojaee, PhD Student, Heriot-Watt University

15:20    Identifying the subsurface microbial response to CO2 storage conditions within depleted oilfield systems

             Leanne Walker, Research Associate in Subsurface Microbiology (CCS), The University of Manchester

15:45    BioHyPro: Bioproduction of CO2 -free hydrogen & protein from crude oil

             Dr Moein Jahanbani Veshareh, Researcher, DTU Offshore

16:10    Break

16:30    Panel session

16:50    Poster Session

  • Moderator: Professor Ian Head, Dean of Research & Innovation, Newcastle University
  • Microbiological Evaluation of Pinhole Leak Incident in Sour Feed Pipeline
  • Razan Alharthi, Lab Scientist, Saudi Aramco
  • Assessing the various methods used for re-suspension of sessile samples (biostud coupons) to optimise recovery of microbiological populations for further analysis
    Lloyd Potts, Senior Microbiologist, Intertek
  • Evaluation of EOR properties from sophorolipids biosurfactant obtained from Meyerozyma spp. MF138126
    Dr Lateef Akanji, Senior Lecturer in Petroleum Engineering, University of Aberdeen
  • Study of Microbial Assessment (MIC) and Monitoring of Shallow Aquifers
    Fawziah Alajmi, Lab Scientist, Saudi Aramco
  • Microbial influence corrosion (MIC) assessment, and Metallurgic Techniques to Study a Failure Analysis of RO membrane at Saudi Aramco Gas Plant
    Dr Husam Khanfar, Lab Operation Group Leader, Saudi Aramco
  • Experimental and numerical investigation of microbial treatment of leakage in carbonate media
    Hossein Younesian Farid, PhD student, DTU offshore
  • Unleashing the Power of Pseudomonas chlororaphis ST9: Transforming Agriculture Sustainably with Bio-Stimulation and Biological Control
    Ignacio Villalba Recuerda, R&D Microbiologist, Mafa Bioscience
  • Automatic, Online, Water Bacteria Measurement Device That Will Change Oil and Gas Biocide Application
    Aurelija Steffensen, Product Manager, Bactiquant
  • Microbial activities and their implications for hydrogen storage at the Ketzin pilot site in Germany: review and pore-network modelling
    Dr Mrityunjay Singh, Postdoctoral Researcher, GFZ Potsdam
  • Bridging the gap in the oil and gas industry through AI and ML capabilities
    Dr Ameerah Bokhari, Petroleum Scientist, Saudi Aramco 
  • Chemically and Mechanically Induced Production Well Impairment Considerations for a more Targeted Solution
    Collins Elechi, Global Production Chemistry Advisor, Baker Hughes

17:35    Closing Remarks

17:45    Drink Reception

19:00    Dinner Social

             Piccolino

Day 2  -  Thursday 16 November 2023

08:00    Registration and Networking

08:30    Welcome to Day 2

08:35    Keynote: Geological processes mediate a microbial dispersal loop in the deep biosphere     

             Moderator: Renato M. De Paula PhD, Business Development Manager, Technical Lead Advisor – Biocides, Solvay Oil & Gas Solutions
             Prof Casey Hubert, Professor of Geomicrobiology, University of Calgary

Session 3: Microbial and Chemical Monitoring

09:10    Session Welcome Remarks

             Moderator TBC

09:15   Investigation of hydrogen sulphide generation in an underground salt cavern used for butane storage

             Dr Gareth Williams, Consultancy Services Manager, ECHA Microbiology

09:40   Automatic, Online, Water Bacteria Measurement Device

            James Fajt, Principle Microbiologist, SBL

10:05    Impact of Decommissioning on Benthic Microbial Communities in the North Sea

             Haleigh E Jorgeson, PhD Researcher, University of Essex

10:30   Panel session

10:50    Refreshment Break

Session 4: Reservoir Souring (fundamentals, mitigation strategies, modelling, and prediction)

11:10   Session Welcome Remarks

             Anthony (Tony) Mitchell, Specialist Production Technology, Well Chemistry & Water Management, CCI RPT PRO, Equinor

11:15    Biocide-driven souring control and metagenomic analysis of a halophilic sulfate-reducing enrichment derived from a crude oil reservoir                                  

             Rita Eresia-Eke, Graduate Student, University of Calgary

11:40    New Insights on reservoir souring of an oilfield facility using souring simulating bioreactors and Next Generation Sequencing

             Aristides Mendes, Microbiology & Bioreactors Expert Technician, Global Biosciences Center, SGS                                         

12:05    Lunch                            

13:05    Microbial Growth Rates for Field-Scale Modelling                                   

              Ali Mahmoodi, Research Assistant, Technical University of Denmark - DTU Offshore

13:30    Evaluating Oil-Degrading, Sulfide-Producing Communities in Long-Term Extreme Environment Studies, and Determining their Efficiency in VFA Oxidation and Nitrate Reduction

              Matt Streets, Head of Division & Senior Research Scientist, Rawwater

Session 5:  Microbiology of Hydraulic Fracturing

13:55     Session Welcome Remarks

              Kenneth (Ken) Wunch, Energy Technology Fellow, Lanxess Materials Protection Products 

14:00    Challenges in microbial control upon reuse and recycling of produced water for completion of new unconventional wells

              Dr Luiza Andrade, Senior Scientist II, Solvay

14:25    The provenance of microorganisms adapted to extreme salinity, extreme temperature, and toxic metals within the Montney shale formation                                    

              Gabrielle Scheffer, PhD candidate, University of Calgary

14:50    Break

15:10    From in-situ to in-vitro to in-situ: Difficulties and other difficulties when dealing with biofilms in the upstream of Oil & Gas. A case of study

             Dr. Francisco L. Massello, Postdoctoral Researcher, YPF TECNOLOGÍA (Y-TEC)

15:35    Novel Application of Nitrate as H2S Control Strategy in Produced Water Storage Ponds in the Permian Basin

              Dr Wei Shi, Flow Assurance Engineer, Chevron Technical Center

16:00    Panel session  

16:20    Closing remarks

16:25    End of conference


Topics explored:

  • General Subsurface Microbiology
  • Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (fundamentals, mitigation strategies, modelling, and prediction)
  • Reservoir Souring (fundamentals, mitigation strategies, modelling, and prediction)
  • Microbial Control (fundamentals, mitigation strategies, modelling, and prediction)
  • Microbial and Chemical Monitoring
  • Produced Water Management
  • Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery and Microbial Upgrading
  • Reservoir, Fluid and Biofilm Modelling
  • Microbiology of Hydraulic Fracturing
  • Microbiological aspects of Hydrogen and CO2 Transport and Storage
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Role of microbiology in low carbon solutions
  • Other

Why should you attend RMF?

  • Increase the visibility of your work
  • Gain recognition for your technical knowledge and experience
  • Raise your company’s prole
  • Support the industry by sharing experiences that will benefit future microbial work
Thank you so very much for all of the incredible work that (goes into) the RMF meeting. Simply excellent in every way, and what a cutting-edge and dynamic group of participants...wow!' - Professor Bruce Fouke, Director, Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Areas of work or research will include:

  • Microbiology and molecular biology
  • Production chemistry and engineering
  • Geochemistry and geophysics
  • Reservoir engineering
  • Material sciences
  • Computer modelling

The informal nature of this event makes it an excellent networking opportunity with delegates from all over the world representing companies, chemical suppliers, research institutes, universities, consultancies and service companies. Students are also encouraged to participate. The hybrid format will provide plenty of opportunities to interact with speakers and delegates, provide question and answer sessions, and access to written materials.

Join the RMF LinkedIn Group — stay in touch with other delegates and professionals in the industry.

Who attends?

As the effects of microbes in oil recovery are very widespread and versatile, this event will be of interest to all professionals and students working on issues resulting from the detrimental or beneficial impacts of microbes in oil recovery.

Registration fees:

  • EI Members - £299 + VAT
  • EI Company Members - £399 + VAT
  • Non-members - £499 + VAT
  • Speakers (oral and poster) - £199 + VAT
  • Academic staff - £199 + VAT
  • Students - £120 + VAT
Members and non-members can book online. To book at one of the other rates, please contact FFerrari@energyinst.org for your promo code.

About RMF:

This event is run by the Energy Institute (EI) with the support of a small working group within the EI's Microbiology Committee. The current RMF working group members are:

  • Dr Anthony Mitchell, Equinor
  • Dr Bart Lomans, Shell Global Solutions International
  • Dr Carol Devine MEI, NCIMB
  • Dr Kenneth Wunch, Lanxess
  • Professor Ian M. Head, Newcastle University
  • Dr Lisa Gieg, University of Calgary
  • Dr Paul Evans, Chevron
  • Dr Renato De Paula, Solvay Oil & Gas  
  • Dr. Laura Machuca Suarez, Curtin Corrosion Centre

Supporting organisations:

                             

Are you interested in microbiology training?

Join our Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) — Corrosion Management & Failure Analysis course

13-14 November, In-person — London

  • Apply Corrosion Management principles to assessing, mitigating and monitoring the corrosion threat of MIC
  • Apply and interpret state-of-the-art MIC diagnostic methods
  • Understand sampling procedures for various sample types obtained in the oil and gas industry
  • Plan and execute a failure analysis investigation where MIC is the root cause

As MIC is taking place the week of RMF, you can receive a 10% discount if you've already booked onto RMF. Email us at webtraining@energyinst.org for the discount code.

Take me to MIC

Contact details

Francesca Ferrari: fferrari@energyinst.org, +44 (0)20 7467 7192

Book to attend in person

Book to attend online