Bioremediation of Oily Based Drilling Waste Resulting From Oil & Gas Wells At Western Desert

Abstract

This work examines the ability and efficiency of the bioremediation technique as an alternative, environmental friendly treatment process and a well-proven environmentally acceptable technology that uses microorganisms to biologically degrade the oily base mud (OBM) waste resulting from group of selected oil and gas drilling and exploration wells in Western Desert in Egypt. Eleven samples from the waste of oily base mud were collected from different drilling locations at Western Desert, from (Abu Sennan, El Alamein, Qattara Depression, Burg El Arab, Marina, and El Hamra). The samples were analyzed for bacteriological examination to enumerate the total bacterial counts and to enumerate the Oil Degrading Bacteria (ODB), then isolation and purification of Oil Degrading Bacterial (ODB) isolates for further screening of ODB.