Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, will carry out research on Coal Bed Methane (CBM), in collaboration with the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOPNG).
A Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) was signed between IIT (ISM) and the directorate at the office of the DGH, Noida, to enable research and development activities, CBM resource assessment of Indian CBM blocks, and carry out studies for enhancement of recovery of CBM resources. The MoU encompasses the scope of studies in unconventional hydrocarbon resources, including shale reservoirs.
IIT (ISM) Dhanbad director Rajiv Shekhar and DGH additional director general (ADG) (development) Anand Gupta shared the signed copy of MoU virtually. Rajeev of the Petroleum Engineering department and Saurabh Datta Gupta of the Applied Geophysics department represented IIT(ISM) at the DGH office.
Shekhar stressed the need for collaboration between IIT(ISM) Dhanbad and DGH for development of CBM and other unconventional hydrocarbon resources of India. He also underlined the importance coal reservoir characterisation in CBM development and integration about the newly established Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT(ISM) Dhanbad.
Upadhyay made a presentation on modelling capabilities of IIT and CBM prospect evaluation methodologies in line with the MoU.