""They've tried everything," Prab Sekhon, CEO of Eclipse Energy, told TechCrunch. "There's still a ton of oil left behind.""
""Rather than pump harder or inject something to force oil to the surface, Eclipse sends down microbes to munch on the oil molecules and liberate their hydrogen.""
"As the microbes consume the oil, they break it down into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Both then flow to the surface, where Eclipse and its partners will eventually separate the two. About half of the carbon dioxide is likely to stay in the reservoir, while the other half could be captured using specialized equipment and either sequestered or used."
""They're an extension of our team," Sekhon said to characterize the relationship with Weatherford. "They'll be our operational arm.""
Millions of abandoned oil and gas wells hold residual hydrocarbons that are uneconomic to pump. Eclipse Energy injects naturally occurring oil‑eating microbes into wells to break down oil into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, allowing hydrogen gas to flow to the surface more easily than viscous oil. About half of the produced CO2 is expected to remain trapped in the reservoir while the remainder can be captured and sequestered or used. Eclipse demonstrated the approach in California's San Joaquin Basin, sampled strains over several years, and is partnering with Weatherford for global operational deployment starting in January to produce low‑carbon hydrogen.
Read at TechCrunch
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