SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – With oil reserves dropping across Canada and around the globe, many companies are seeking economic methods of enhanced/tertiary oil recovery in existing reservoirs. Many fields now use water flood, or polymer flooding; some use a CO2 injection scheme using captured CO2 from factories and industrial process to enhance reservoir pressures and aid in recovery efforts.
But a small Saskatchewan firm, Gaseous Energy, is going to go one step further and begin a pilot program of Bovine Methane Recovery and Injection, or BMRI. Keith Rural, development manager at Gasifous, says the technology is green and eco-friendly.
Keith Rural, development manager
We wanted to avoid any kind of gas recovery from industrial processes and focus on a natural source of injection gas. We chose methane because we live around a lot of ranches and farms. What we basically do is put an air tight diaper apparatus on each cow and collect methane as it is released post digestion. We then uses a rubber-butyl collection system to collect and compress the gas, which is then injected into the reservoir and voila. Pressure support in the reservoir and oil production goes up. – Keith Urban, manager
While the technology seems safe enough for both the environment and the bovine candidates, members of PETA have expressed outrage at the idea and are already lobbying the Saskatchewan government to ban this technology. Along side the protests against fracking and pipelines, it seems PETA wants in on the publicity as well.
Lucinda Greenfrow was adamant the government will see the light and ban BMRI from ever occurring.
Lucinda Greenfrow, PETA
Do you want to walk around with a damn hose diaper strapped to your ass? I don’t. And I toot just like everyone else. Can we strap collection diapers to every oil and gas worker who eats gross fatty meat filled lunches and then farts all day long? See how much they like it then.
With a 14-cow pilot to begin in February 2015, the technology thus far is unproven. Considering the technology predicts an 18-month recovery time to see any results from the pilot, only time will tell.
When asked about the possibility of PETA success and a province-wide ban, Dr. Rural did say he was inspired by Ms. Greenfrow’s creative ideas, and is having several of his technical staff outfitted with human-sized apparatus now, with corporate meal planning to revolve around Mexican and bean-rich foods for the foreseeable future.
