Patent ID: 8127839

Claim:
A method of producing biogenic methane comprising the steps of: providing a hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment having a hydrocarbon-bearing formation and at least one microbial population; pretreating said hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment having said hydrocarbon-bearing formation and said at least one microbial population with a basic amendment; increasing a pH of said hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment with said basic amendment to provide a basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment; extracting at least some hydrocarbons from said hydrocarbon-bearing formation in said basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment; adjusting said pH of said basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment; microbially consuming said at least some of said hydrocarbons extracted from said hydrocarbon-bearing formation by said at least one microbial population to provide a stimulated microbial population; generating methane from said stimulated microbial population; and collecting said methane.