IIT Madras students developing indigenous oil recovery method

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras are developing indigenous processes for efficient recovery of oil from mature offshore wells. In collaboration with research laboratories in Australia, IIT Madras researchers are studying efficacy of an emerging enhanced oil recovery method called ‘Low-Salinity Enhanced Oil Recovery’ (LSEOR). While speaking on the same, Jitender Sangwai, Associate Professor (petroleum engineering program) in Department of Ocean Engineering at IIT Madras, who is heading the research said, “Our research aims to develop indigenous methods for the recovery of crude oil from geological reservoirs, which is a complex process. There is still much that needs to be understood in the use of LSEOR methods. We do evaluate salt levels in water, the acidity of crude oil, mineralogy of rock and other factors”.