Microbe may help exploit depleted oil fields

BEIJING: Previous studies found that petroleum hydrocarbon can be converted into methane by microbes, a process similar to traditional biogas fermentation requiring different types of bacteria and archaea.

An unexpected discovery of a new microbe by Chinese scientists, recently published in the journal Nature, proves that such conversion can be done by a single type of archaea alone. It paves the way for further exploitation of depleted oil fields, the China Science Daily reported.