DEEPBIOENGINEERING

在生物工程和石油地球科学的交界处，从来没有一个更令人兴奋的时刻。地质微生物学的最新发现和DNA测序方法的突破使我们对微生物在地下石油储层全球重要过程中的作用有了前所未有的了解。合格的估计表明，地球上绝大多数微生物都栖息在地下。大多数新发现的分类群在这个“深层生物圈”没有代表在实验室文化，因此知识，他们在经济相关的地球化学循环的作用是未知的。化石燃料库是微生物的栖息地，具有很大的科学意义，甚至更大的社会重要性。地下石油储层的原生微生物可造成重大损害和经济损失。然而，了解和利用这种“石油微生物组”，对于更可持续的石油生产和新的勘探策略的工程干预具有巨大的潜力。下一代工程师面临着减少全球温室气体排放的不可避免的挑战。石油和天然气行业是这一挑战的中心。目前，化石燃料占全球一次能源供应的80%以上，但即使在快速创新和适度人口增长的乐观预测下，化石燃料仍将在2030年供应我们70%的能源（国际能源署，2010年）。很明显，向更可持续的能源过渡将需要几十年的时间，化石燃料将继续是必不可少的，能源部门的所有领域都需要创新。因此，开发直接关注石油工业的新工程干预和新技术是至关重要的，以便尽可能负责任地开采现有资源。长期以来，人们已经认识到微生物是石油储层和石油生产系统的重要组成部分，几乎世纪前就报道了硫酸盐还原菌（SRB）的存在（Bastin，1926，Science 63：21）。硫酸盐还原菌在石油工业中是众所周知的，因为它们会导致储层酸化-产生有毒的硫化氢（H2S）。由于与H2S相关的生产问题（例如，腐蚀）和高硫石油的低价值。可以刺激硝酸盐还原菌（NRB）以环境友好的方式控制酸化，虽然硝酸盐注入是一种开始在海上实施的策略，但人们对它的了解仍然很少。DEEPBIOENGINEERING的第一个主要目标是通过将地球化学、微生物学和高通量核酸测序相结合应用于油藏生产沃茨和接种于其中的实验培养物，对酸化和硝酸盐驱动的酸化控制有新的认识。这项研究将提供一个前所未有的石油微生物组的理解，这将支持基于预测的生物工程干预酸化control.The第二个主要目标是利用深层石油微生物组的知识，以跟踪以前的本地油藏细菌的分布。这将为海上石油和天然气勘探带来全新的工具。这一想法是基于对冷海洋沉积物中的油样细菌（嗜热SRB）的观察（Hubert等人，2009，Science 325：1541），以及从天然海底烃渗漏处的储层泄漏的石油流体是可以定量测量的微生物扩散机制的假设。这将导致预测模型和概念，将使用生物指标来绘制海底地图，并预测或定位海底碳氢化合物渗漏。这一环境友好型工具将有助于近海勘探所需的石油能源资源。

There has never been a more exciting time to be at the interface of biological engineering and petroleum geosciences. Recent discoveries in geomicrobiology and methodological breakthroughs in DNA sequencing place us on the brink of an unprecedented understanding of the role of microorganisms in globally significant processes in subsurface petroleum reservoirs. Qualified estimates reveal that the vast majority of microorganisms on Earth inhabit the subsurface. Most newly discovered taxa in this 'deep biosphere' have no representatives in laboratory cultures, thus knowledge about their role in economically relevant biogeochemical cycles is unknown. Fossil fuel reservoirs are microbial habitats of great scientific interest and even greater societal importance. Microbes native to subsurface petroleum reservoirs can cause significant damage and economic loss. However, understanding and harnessing this 'petroleum microbiome' has great potential for engineering interventions for more sustainable petroleum production and novel exploration strategies.The next generation of engineers faces the unavoidable challenge of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The oil and gas industry is at the epicentre of this challenge. Currently fossil fuels account for greater than 80% of global primary energy supply, yet even under optimistic projections of rapid innovation and modest population growth fossil fuels will still supply 70% of our energy in 2030 (International Energy Agency, 2010). It is clear that the transition towards more sustainable energy will require several decades, that fossil fuels will continue to be essential, and that innovation is needed in all areas of the energy sector. It is critical therefore to develop new engineering interventions and novel technologies focusing directly on the oil indsutry so that existing resources are exploited as responsibly as possible.It has long been recognized that microorganisms are important constituents of petroleum reservoirs and oil production systems, with the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) being reported almost a century ago (Bastin, 1926, Science 63:21). SRB are well known in the oil industry because they cause reservoir souring - the production of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Souring costs the oil industry billions of pounds annually due to production problems related to H2S (e.g., corrosion) and the lower value of high-sulfur petroleum. Nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) can be stimulated to control souring in an environmentally friendly way, and while nitrate injection is a strategy beginning to be practised offshore, it remains poorly understood. The first major objective of DEEPBIOENGINEERING is to develop a new understanding of souring and nitrate-driven souring control by applying a combination of geochemistry, microbiology and high throughput nucleic acid sequencing to reservoir production waters and experimental cultures inoculated with them. This research will deliver an unprecedented understanding of the petroleum microbiome, which will underpin prediction-based bioengineering interventions for souring control.The second major objective of DEEPBIOENGINEERING is to exploit the knowledge of the deep petroleum microbiome to track the distribution of formerly indigenous reservoir bacteria. This will lead to a totally new tool for offshore oil and gas exploration. This idea is based on the observation of oil reservoir-like bacteria (thermophilic SRB) in cold ocean sediments (Hubert et al 2009, Science 325:1541) and the hypothesis that petroleum fluids leaking from reservoirs at natural seafloor hydrocarbon seeps is a mechanism for microbe dispersal that can be quantitatively measured. This will lead to predictive models and concepts that will be use bioindicators to map the seafloor and predict or locate seabed hydrocarbon seeps. This environmentally friendly tool will assist offshore exploration for needed petroleum energy resources.