51314-3788-Effect of Sample Storage Conditions on Oilfield Microbiological Samples

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Product Number: 51314-3788-SG

ISBN: 3788 2014 CP

Author: John Kilbane

Publication Date: 2014

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The recommended practice for the microbiological analysis of samples from oilfield sources is to analyze the samples as rapidly as possible and if inoculation of microbial growth media in the field is not possible it is recommended that samples should be kept on ice during transport and to complete processing of samples within 24 hours. It is not always possible to process microbiological samples within 24 hours but data is lacking that quantifies the amount of microbial community changes occurring in oilfield samples that have been stored with and without refrigeration for 24 hours or more. In this study oilfield samples of predominantly Sulfate Reducing Bacteria Acid Producing Bacteria and Nitrate Reducing Bacteria were subjected to three storage conditions: refrigeration room temperature and daily cycling between 37oC and room temperature. The microbial populations in these samples were monitored over a two week period using microbiological growth media. Surprisingly little variation in the microbial populations were observed and these results were confirmed with multiple samples. While it is recommended that samples for microbiological testing should be processed as rapidly as possible the results presented here demonstrate that meaningful microbiological data can be obtained from samples that have not been refrigerated for several days.