With this step, IOCL is not only going to fight climate change but also boost oil output

The oil marketing company has signed an agreement to supply carbon dioxide emitted from its refineries to oil producers like ONGC and OIL

Published on:

16 Apr 2019, 9:30 am

New Delhi: State-owned fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has initiated a move that will not just address the menace of climate change but will also boost crude oil production from ageing oil fields. The oil marketing company (OMC) has signed an agreement to supply carbon dioxide emitted from its refineries to oil producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL).

As of now, a preliminary agreement has been signed between IOCL and ONGC and OIL India under which the OMC is going to capture the carbon dioxide captured from its refineries and pipe it to ONGC and OIL India. The two oil producers will inject CO2 into their depleting oilfields to boost output.

Move will address climate change and boost oil output

SSV Ramakumar, director (research & development) at IOCL, said that the move would not only address climate change concerns but also India's declining oil output, an issue that assumed more significance as the country's oil import bill is set to swell to its highest value in the last five years since the BJP regime came to power.

Refineries in Gujarat and North-East to cater to oil fields in these regions

While the IOCL refinery in Gujarat will provide CO2 to ONGC fields in the state, those in the North-East will cater to the oil fields in that part of the country. The PSU also plans to expand the project to its other refineries. Using CO2 to extract oil from ageing oilfields is a practice that's followed across the globe as enhanced oil recovery techniques to extract oil that cannot be otherwise recovered.

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