Canola Oil To Help Lube NoDak Oil Patch. Reasonable?
Now, we pour gunk with the consistency of maple syrup down the well...hoping more oil comes out.
I didn't want to lead with "Biosurfactant" to get mixed with water and pumped into existing North Dakota wells to loosen oil that did not release during earlier fracking and drilling." Because, "Biosurfactant"? It gets spell checked every time. But, it is a word and an element of a process that seeks to extract clever oil that's still lurking in the ground around the drilling or fracking.
Used in oil spill remediation because it releases the chemical bonds...
Oil spill remediation[edit]
Biosurfactants enhance the emulsification of hydrocarbons, thus they have the potential to solubilise hydrocarbon contaminants and increase their availability for microbial degradation.[7][8] These compounds can also be used in enhanced oil recovery and may be considered for other potential applications in environmental protection.
So used to break up oil spills, but what about shooting it into the ground? I mean it has the consistency of maple syrup, which sounds nice, but what does it consist of?
I mean you can't just star pouring canola oil in the ground to get out more oil? Who uses a fat fryer and just dumps the used oil back in the hedges? I mean is this the 70s? Don't change the oil in your car and dump it in the ground. What is this the 70s? I'm guilty of both of those...in the 70s.
So here's where canola oil and sugar beets can ferment in a way to produce these biosurfacants.
Oily substrates such as used cooking oil, which may cause severe environmental problems, have been proven to be good and cheap renewable carbon sources for the production of biosurfactants [6,7,8]. The used cooking oil from domestic waste also contains an appropriate balance of nutrients to support optimum bacterial growth and the synthesis of biosurfactants
OK, so science says it's fine for Texas
In Texas, where the biosurfactant has already been tested, regulators have approved it as a means for oil companies to obtain a state tax credit. The product has been applied to more than 300 wells in various oil and gas basins across the United States.
Over $200,000 of your tax dollars is going into research of this syrupy substance in the hopes it can kick start existing oil production to take advantage of recovering oil prices.
I wish them the best of luck...but honestly, I'm feeling they'll let ya do what ever you want to do out on the Bakken. But I'm not smart enough to judge. Hoping they're smart enough to do the right things.