【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】Microorganisms developed by SunEclipse Energy can transform idle oil wells into hydrogen production plants

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Microorganisms developed by Eclipse Energy can transform idle oil wells into hydrogen production plants 2025-12-11 22:12·Sina Finance Source: Global Market Report. In the United States alone, there are as many as 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells. Although many of them still contain oil or gas, well owners believe that continuing extraction is no longer profitable. Prabhu Sehong, CEO of Eclipse Energy, told the tech blog TechCrunch: “They’ve tried every method, but there’s still a large amount of oil remaining in the wells.” ” Eclipse Energy is unable to recover this oil, but it has ways to extract some of the energy contained within it to the surface. Instead of increasing the pumping force or using substances to drive oil out, the company introduced microorganisms into the well, allowing them to break down oil molecules and release hydrogen. In this way, companies no longer need to deal with viscous oil; they only have to handle hydrogen. Sehong said, “Hydrogen is much more fluid,” which makes the process of extracting hydrogen from oil wells easier. This Houston-based startup, which originated from SenVita, completed a demonstration of this technology at an oil field in the San Joaquin Valley in California last summer. Recently, the company revealed to TechCrunch exclusively that it is working in partnership with oilfield services firm Weatherford International to bring this technology to a global scale, with the first projects set to begin in January next year. Describing the partnership with Weatherford International, Sehong said, “They are an extension of our team and will serve as our business execution unit.” ” Eclipse Energy, formerly known as Golden Hydrogen, has been developing this technology over the past few years. The company continues to sample and screen for naturally occurring microorganisms in oil wells, which live at the interface between oil and water in aquifers, with the goal of identifying the strains most suitable for this hydrogen production technology. As microorganisms consume oil, they break it down into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Both of these gases will then rise to the surface, where they are eventually separated by Eclipse Energy and its partners. About half of that carbon dioxide may remain in the reservoir, while the other half can be captured using specialized equipment, either for sequestration or for utilization. Seyhon said the company’s goal is to keep the production cost of low-carbon hydrogen at around 50 cents per kilogram, a price comparable to that of hydrogen produced in industrial plants through natural gas cracking, a process that emits more carbon dioxide. The hydrogen produced by this technology can be used in petrochemical plants or burned directly to generate electricity. Sehong said, “This technology is equivalent to converting a liability into a clean energy asset.” ”