How Ultra-MEOR^® Works

Ultra-MEOR is a well-level microbial enhanced oil recovery system designed to influence oil mobility and production behavior in the near-wellbore region and the connected reservoir volume.

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The Ultra-MEOR System

Four parts operate together: a preselected microbial population, two matched components, and a controlled field protocol.

Natural Microbial Consortium

A preselected, externally cultivated population containing more than 100 naturally occurring hydrocarbon-metabolizing microbial species.

Natural Support Component

Specifically formulated to support the consortium after preparation and placement, developed alongside it rather than as a generic nutrient addition.

Natural Activation Component

Intended to improve local conditions for microbial activation and metabolite production, addressing limited oxygen availability under reservoir conditions.

Field Protocol

A controlled preparation, injection, shut-in, restart and monitoring sequence, applied consistently across every treatment.

Proposed Recovery Mechanisms

Ultra-MEOR is intended to operate through multiple biological and physicochemical pathways rather than one single recovery mechanism.

Pathway

Technical Basis

Engineering Implication / Diagnostic

Biosurfactants / Metabolites

May reduce oil-water interfacial tension and capillary trapping.

Potential residual-oil mobilization

Oil-Surface Detachment

Metabolites may reduce forces retaining oil on mineral surfaces.

Potential improved mobility

Selective Flow Modification

Biomass or biopolymers may affect preferential flow paths.

Potential redistribution of flow and conformance effects

Paraffin / Wax Modification

Hydrocarbon interaction and metabolite effects may loosen or modify organic deposits.

Potential release and flow benefits

Biogenic Effects

Localized gas, acid or other metabolites may influence pore-scale behavior.

Reservoir-dependent based on gas, pH, alkalinity and fluid chemistry.

The Oil-Water-Rock System

Ultra-MEOR should be understood within the oil-water-rock system, not as a treatment acting on oil alone. Microorganisms require an aqueous phase for transport and metabolism; reservoir water can serve as the medium through which microbes and their metabolites interact with oil and mineral surfaces. Ultra-MEOR is not intended to remove connate or irreducible water.

Wettability controls how oil and water distribute within pore space and materially influences capillary pressure, residual oil saturation, and relative permeability. Many reservoirs are mixed-wet rather than purely water-wet or oil-wet. If microbial metabolites reduce oil adhesion or alter surface affinity, previously retained hydrocarbons may become easier to mobilize. Published MEOR reviews identify wettability alteration as a recognized mechanism, and research has explicitly investigated this variable.

In our 2026 field validation on a mature conventional well in North Africa, oil production increased while produced water decreased over about 90 days of monitoring. That pattern is consistent with a change in how oil and water move through the reservoir, but it does not prove the mechanism was a change in wettability or relative permeability. Confirming that would require testing that the trial did not include, such as interfacial-tension tests, contact-angle measurements, relative-permeability studies, pressure-transient analysis, production logging, and tracer studies.

Paraffin and Wax: A Secondary Opportunity

Paraffin and wax deposition have been associated with microbial petroleum research for decades and are part of the historical development behind modern Ultra-MEOR. Deposits can restrict reservoir pore space near the wellbore, as well as perforations, tubing, pumps, flowlines, valves, and surface equipment. Historical government-supported and private development records describe microbial treatment programs focused specifically on paraffin reduction, with operator-reported reductions in paraffin problems following treatment.

Potential mechanisms include direct interaction with selected long-chain hydrocarbons, biosurfactants, and other metabolites that modify deposit adhesion or rheology. These observations support continued evaluation but do not establish that every wax deposit will respond.

Traditional MEOR vs. Ultra-MEOR

Comparison Area

Traditional MEOR

Ultra-MEOR

Microbial Source

Often stimulates indigenous reservoir microorganisms or injects selected bacterial cultures; some approaches use isolated enzymes or biosurfactant systems.

Introduces a preselected, externally cultivated Natural Microbial Consortium with broad hydrocarbon-metabolizing capability.

Treatment Package

May rely on carrier water plus nutrient packages, surfactants, enzyme products, or limited microbial cultures; composition varies widely.

Natural Microbial Consortium plus matched Natural Support and Natural Activation Components and a defined preparation/injection protocol.

Metabolic / Oxygen Strategy

Many reservoir programs emphasize anaerobic or low-oxygen pathways, although MEOR research also includes aerobic and ex-situ approaches.

Uses a proprietary activation strategy intended to support localized aerobic or microaerophilic activity in addition to the consortium’s broader biological capabilities.

Dependence on Reservoir Ecology

Indigenous-stimulation approaches depend heavily on the organisms already present, their metabolic capability, and nutrient delivery.

Reduces dependence on the unknown native population by introducing a selected consortium, while still depending on reservoir compatibility, placement, connectivity, and remaining oil.

Typical Field Operation

Placement and shut-in vary by program. The supplied Petrotrin indigenous-stimulation pilot generally used a 14-day shut-in.

Historical guidance commonly used 5-10 days; the 2026 field validation used a four-day shut-in through existing wellhead infrastructure.

Field Evidence in Supplied Record

Petrotrin indigenous-stimulation pilot: 3 of 8 wells increased, 4 were unchanged, and 1 was recompleted; laboratory response did not always translate into field response.

Positive oil responses in four government-supported clastic lease applications, the PEMEX 20-well program, the Trinidad 13-well program, and the 2026 North African pilot.

The Field Protocol

A defined preparation, injection, shut-in, restart and monitoring sequence, applied through existing well infrastructure.

PREPARE

Support, Activation and Microbial Consortium components are mixed into a 10,000-liter tank of well, produced, or salt water, then checked for uniform consistency before injection.

INJECT

Only a waterflood, not a standard water injection, introduces Ultra-MEOR through existing wellhead and surface equipment. Water from an unknown source is filtered first.