ANTI-MICROBIAL EXPERTISE Oilfield bacteria can lead to microbial-influenced corrosion (MIC) that ruins equipment and shuts down production. Bacteria had become a major problem for Shell’s aging Pinedale field in Wyoming, and it took the merging of Nalco and Champion’s RD&E teams and a significant investment in cutting edge technology to solve it.Nalco Champion brought flow cytometry from the medical lab to the oilfield. Prior to the merger, Champion had begun growing biofilms and using a confocal microscope to analyze the bacteria. But following the Nalco Champion merger, the combined team invested in a flow cytometer—a tool used to diagnose health disorders, particularly blood cancers, but completely new to oil and gas analysis. Said Tom Tekavec, production chemist with Shell, "The legacy

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