ONGC and TERI have formed a Joint Venture known as ONGC-TERI Biotech Ltd (OBTL) for large scale application of microbial product Oilzapper for clean up of oil spills in farmers field and around oil installations and treatment of oily sludge hazardous hydrocarbon waste.
New Delhi, Mar 11 : ONGC and TERI have formed a Joint Venture known as ONGC-TERI Biotech Ltd (OBTL) for large scale application of microbial product Oilzapper for clean up of oil spills in farmers' field and around oil installations and treatment of oily sludge hazardous hydrocarbon waste.
A memorandum of understanding with ONGC was singed recently at ONGC, New Delhi.
The agreement was signed by M M Joshi, Director, Enterprise and Technology Development, TERI and V K Jain, GGM and Head Corporate HSE, ONGC in the presence of A K Hazarika, Director (Onshore), HSE, ONGC and Dr Banwari Lal, Director, Microbial Biotechnology, Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology, TERI.
ONGC will use Oilzapper, MEOR and Prevention of paraffin deposition technologies in its various installations, assets, basins and plants and other such technologies to be developed by OTBL in future.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Banwari Lal, Director, Microbial Biotechnology, Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology, TERI said, "It is a great achievement for TERI to have entered into a joint venture with ONGC, which is the largest PSUs in India."
"This form of oil recovery is extension-friendly, cost-effective, yields economic benefits, and foremost it is environment-friendly in nature giving it an edge over other conventional methods. The possibilities that these invisible, living organisms offer us are immense and we at TERI are still tapping more as we progress in our research," he added.
The Joint Venture will also provide Oilzapper, MEOR and Prevention of paraffin deposition technologies to ONGC, OIL and other companies in India and abroad especially in Middle East countries. In OTBL, TERI's share is 47 per cent and ONGC's share is 49 per cent and remaining is financial institutes' share.
Paraffin deposition in oil well tubing is a major problem, which cause enormous production loss. Conventional techniques for control of paraffin deposition in the oil well tubing is highly expensive and plagued with other associated problems.
Currently ONGC is practicing scraping of oil well tubing, however sometimes scrapper wire breaks and blocks the oil well tubing. After that work over job is required to remove the scraper, which is costly. Prevention of paraffin deposition in oil well tubing by using microbes offers a cost effective approach.
To solve this problem, thermophilic paraffin degrading bacterial strain (PDS-10) was developed for prevention of paraffin deposition inside the oil well tubing jointly by TERI and Institute of Reservoir Studies (IRS), ONGC, Ahmedabad. After application of these microbes paraffin deposition in well tubing was prevented and there was not a single scrapping in one year. Oil productions from these wells were also increased.
ANI