Page 154 - CW E-Magazine (14-11-2023)

Hydrocarbons

SAFER OPERATIONS

IIT-G incubated start-up builds robotic solution

to clean petroleum tanks

The Indian Institute of Technology tom sludge, and pump it to a receptacle
Guwahati (IIT-G) incubated start-up, outside the tank; and a robot to water
Beta Tank Robotics, has developed two wash and strip retail outlet petrol pump
robotic solutions that effi ciently main- tanks. According to Prof. Uday Shanker
tain and clean petroleum tanks, elimi- Dixit, Department of Mechanical Engi-
nating the need for human entry into the neering, IIT-G, and Mentor, BetaTank,
tanks for this hazardous task. although the products have been deve-
loped for the oil industry, the technology
Beta Tank Robotics was incubated at can be adopted for cleaning of chemi-
IIT-G’s Technology Incubation Centre entry into petroleum tanks. The robots cal tanks, sewage treatment plants,
(IITG-TIC) in 2019. It has been funded developed by Beta Tank help mitigate food processing tanks, etc., with slight
under the ‘Startup Nurturing, Enabling these risks, expedite the turnaround modifi cations. “Compared to competi-
and Handholding (SNEH)’ fund of time and reduce downtimes. tive products in the market, the price of
Oil India Ltd. Major oil corporations products developed by BetaTank will
encounter potential liabilities and reputa- BetaTank has developed two solu- be much lower with several additional
tional hazards when engaging in human tions: a robot to clean crude oil tank bot- positive features,” he said.

RAMPING UP LOCAL OUTPUT

ONGC may bid for exploratory rights in Kerala-Konkan

basin

ONGC is considering the possibi- Exploration Licensing Policy, should tions, as well as data from the seabed,
lity of submitting a bid for exploratory the re-analysed data prove promising. will be subjected to further analysis to
rights in the Kerala-Konkan basin, determine whether the region holds the
contingent upon the results of a com- Ms. Rawat was speaking on the potential for fresh discoveries. Thus
prehensive re-analysis of geochemical sidelines of the biennial international far, the pursuit of oil and gas reserves
and geoscience data gathered from the conference of the Society of Petroleum in this area has remained elusive. Once
region in previous expeditions. This Geophysicists. Highlighting previous ONGC secures the bid for the Kerala-
development was disclosed by Ms. attempts to locate gas and oil reserves Konkan basin, the drilling operations
Sushma Rawat, Director (Exploration), in the Kerala-Konkan basin, Ms. Rawat could commence within three years.
ONGC. acknowledged that these efforts had not
yielded the desired outcomes. A total of In addition, ONGC is preparing to
ONGC is poised to potentially partici- 19 exploratory wells had been drilled in initiate drilling exercises in the Gulf
pate in the ninth round of the bidding the basin during earlier endeavours. The of Mannar and Kanyakumari region,
process, administered under the New seismic data derived from these opera- according to Ms. Rawat.
IOC receives NCLT nod for acquisition of Mercator

Petroleum

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has to the company’s resolution plan for The company, however, did not share
announced that the Mumbai bench of acquiring Mercator Petroleum Ltd. the fi nancial details of the deal. MPL pos-
the National Company Law Tribunal (MPL) through the Corporate Insolvency sesses an oil and gas exploration block
(NCLT) has given the green signal Resolution Process (CIRP). situated in the Cambay Basin, Gujarat.

154 Chemical Weekly November 14, 2023

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