Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (EOGEPL) is planning to invest ₹2,000 crore more to boost its reserve base, ramp up coal-bed methane production, and implementation of microbial eCBM technology.
The company aims to contribute at least 5 per cent to India’s total gas production in the future through its initiatives. The investment is in line with its commitment to spend more on R&D and improve operations.
EOGEPL is tying up 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.
EOGEPL has so far invested over ₹5,000 crore in exploration for commercial development of the Raniganj CBM Block and has produced over 80 billion cubic feet of CBM to date.
The company said, after extensive study, eCBM Microbial stimulation has been completed in five wells of its Raniganj-East Block. “These wells will be monitored for the next three to six months, and based on the results, along with final optimisation of design, EOGEPL will implement the technology at large scale to maximize gas yield and improve reserves base,” it said.
The microbial treatment is one of the “Enhanced Recovery Methods” used in the oil and gas industry to increase reserves. With the introduction of the Microbial Stimulation Technology, an upsurge in production of CBM gas is expected, while improving the reserve base by up to 10 per cent.