Numerical Investigation of Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation as a Leakage Mitigation Technology

In this work we investigate the performance of a numerical model for microbially induced calcite precipitation predicting the reduction of permeability over time due to biomineralization under reservoir pressure in sandstone cores. Although the model was previously validated with experiments in sand columns under atmospheric pressure, its calculations are consistent with experimental data towards the final half of the experiment, if the implemented porosity permeability relation is fitted to the final experimental porosity and permeability. The initial reduction of permeability is underestimated by the model, indicating an inconsistency between model and experiment. Calculated and measured porosity are nearly identical.