As the natural microbes attach to the “trapped” oil, the benefit is two-fold. First, the microbes attach to the oil and cause a deformation resulting in the oil being formed into smaller micro-droplets that can flow easily through the reservoir rock matrix. Secondly, the attached microbes concurrently act to reduce interfacial tension between oil and water and between the oil and the rock surfaces. Both mechanisms release the oil and allow it to flow more easily and fluid mobility is positively affected. A third mechanism is the formation of temporary, non-dynamic emulsions to divert injected water to new flow paths to improve the sweep efficiency of the reservoir and produce additional oil resources.