Microbial Problems in the Offshore Oil Industry

The growth of the offshore oil industry has been a boon to the versatile micro-organism, causing fouling, spoilage and corrosion. This book examines the microbial problems encountered in the offshore oil industry to see why they occur and how they can be controlled. In particular it considers three important deleterious aspects of microbial growth: corrosion of steel and concrete, biofilm formation and macrofouling, and reservoir transformation and souring. One section also considers the benefits derived from the microbial degradation of platform discharges which alleviates their environmental impact. Other topics covered include the use and monitoring of biocides, fuel problems and the possible use of microbes in oil recovery. Previous microbiological knowledge is not necessary, although the specialist will find much of interest. Although this is an industry-oriented book, much of the content will be of value to other fields which also suffer microbial problems.