Application of Biotechnology in Oil and Gas Industries

Biotechnology has wide application in medical, agriculture, bioremediation, non-renewable energy production, and food production. Nowadays, environment friendly biotechnological approaches are also popular in petroleum industry. Conventional approaches are high in cost, involve complex implementation process and environmental hazard, while biotechnological approaches are environment friendly. In this chapter, we discuss about biotechnological approaches used by oil and gas industries for resolving production related problems and also for enhancement of production. In oil fields microbial souring, corrosion, and sulfur content in crude oil are major problems faced during or after the production. Another is, production of trapped oil through various enhanced oil recovery processes, in which microbial enhanced oil recovery process has shown great potential. At last, oil sands and shale gas production and its related problems are also been discussed.