Patent ID: 7977056
Filing Date: 2011-07-12
Classification: C09K,C12N,C12P,E21B,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A method of identifying a stimulant that increases biogenic production of methane in a hydrocarbon-bearing formation comprising: (a) obtaining a nucleic acid sequence from one or more microorganisms derived from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment; (b) determining the presence of one or more gene products of a nucleic acid sequence from one or more microorganisms derived from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment, wherein said gene product is an enzyme in a pathway involved in the conversion of a hydrocarbon to methane selected from the group consisting of peroxidases, phenol oxidases, alcohol oxidases, laccases, hydrolases, glycosyl hydrolases, esterases, etherases, oxidases, nitrogenases, cellulases, amylases, glucanaeses, pullanases, reductases, dismutases, oxygenases, monooxygenases, dioxygenases, calatases, hydrogenases, carboxylases, and methyl reductases; or an enzyme involved in homoacetogenesis, methanogenesis, acetoclastic methanogenesis or CO (c) identifying a substrate, reactant or co-factor of said enzyme that acts as a stimulant to increase methane production when provided to one or more microorganisms in said hydrocarbon-bearing formation as compared with methane production in the absence of the stimulant.