Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Ltd (EOGEPL) announced its investment in Microbial eCBM technology to boost Coal bed Methane (CBM) production, in a bid to improve operations.
The unconventional hydrocarbon player said in a statement it has collaborated with The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) and ONGC Energy Centre (OEC) to establish the potential of eCBM Microbial technology in the Raniganj-East Block of the company.
The feasibility test of the technique has been completed in collaboration with TERI-OEC, and in parallel R&D is ongoing for full-field application, it added. “With this initiative, we aim to upsurge gas production while contributing towards our Hon. PM’s vision of becoming a ‘Gas-Based Economy’ in the next decade,” CEO Pankaj Kalra said.
The company said eCBM microbial stimulation has been completed in five wells of the block and these wells will be monitored for 3-6 months. Based on the results, along with final optimization of design, the technology will be implemented at large scale to maximize gas yield and improve reserves base.
Microbial treatment is one of the Enhanced Recovery Methods used in the oil & gas industry to increase reserves. With its introduction an upsurge in production of CBM gas is expected, while improving the reserve base by up to 10 per cent.
EOGEPL has so far invested around Rs 5,000 crore in exploration for commercial development of the Raniganj CBM Block. It has so far produced over 80 billion cubic feet (BCF) of CBM.
