DBT Awards TERI, ONGC Team for Innovation in Methane Generation

The Department of Bio-technology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, has jointly conferred its ‘Biotech Product, Process Development and Commercialization Award 2018’ on The Energy Research Institute (TERI), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the ONGC Energy Centre (OEC) Trust.

The award was presented by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Earth Sciences, on the occasion of Technology Day on May 11.

In March 2015, OEC in association with TERI started an R&D project for the development of a microbial process for enhancement of gas production from coal bed methane (CBM) wells. The material and proof-of-concept process were developed in the TERI laboratory by enrichment and characterization of methanogenic bacteria, nutrient optimisation and compatibility studies. Planning and design of the process for field-testing and validation of the developed material in selected CBM wells at Jharia was the responsibility of OEC. The field experiments and well performance monitoring system were developed by OEC and implemented in association with TERI and ONGC Bokaro Asset. The project duration was 30 months, with a budget of Rs. 2.34-crore.

According to TERI, the technology has the potential to produce a three- to four-fold increase in the amount of methane gas emitted by naturally occurring microbes living in coal seams.

Award