The use of microfluidic devices to control drops of water in a carrier oil is a promising means of performing biological and chemical assays. An essential requirement for this is the controlled coalescence of pairs of drops to mix reagents together. We show that this can be accomplished through electrocoalescence of drops synchronized by size-dependent flow in microfluidic channels. Smaller dro...

Enterobacter sp. strain ODB01, which was isolated from the Changqing oil field, can degrade crude oil efficiently and use crude oil as its sole source of carbon and energy. We report the complete genome sequence of ODB01. The results promote its application in the remediation of petroleum contaminants.

Field sampling and mathematical modeling are used to study the long-distance transport and attenuation of petroleum-derived benzene in the Uinta Basin, Utah. Benzene concentration was measured from oil and oil field formation waters of the Altamont-Bluebell and Pariette Bench oil fields in the basin. It was also measured from springs located in the regional groundwater discharge areas, hydrauli...

The exploration of offshore gas/oil has been moving to deepwater fields as big reservoirs have been found and technologies have improved. Presently, the most active areas in deepwater gas/oil field development are Africa and the GOM (Gulf of Mexico) in North America. There are many technological challenges in developing deepwater gas/oil fields such as: flow assurance, subsea systems, riser sys...

We utilized oil/water interfaces as a new field to produce lipid nanotubes (LNTs), which are formed by the self-assembly of lipid molecules, and possess hollow nanometer-wide cylindrical structures. Compared to the self-assembling field in bulk water, oil/water interfaces produced shorter lipids nanotubes less than 10 microm long more efficiently. In addition, we found that the oil/water interf...

While the contribution of Bacteria to bioremediation of oil-contaminated shorelines is well established, the response of Archaea to spilled oil and bioremediation treatments is unknown. The relationship between archaeal community structure and oil spill bioremediation was examined in laboratory microcosms and in a bioremediation field trial. 16S rRNA gene-based PCR and denaturing gradient gel a...

Abstract A decision to invest in the development of an oil reserve requires an in-depth analysis of several uncertainty factors. Such factors may involve either technical uncertainties related to the size and economic quality of the reserve, or market uncertainties. When a great number of investment alternatives are involved, the task of selecting the best alternative or a decision rule is very...