June 28, 2007

BP and Ergo Exergy sign Technical Alliance agreement on Underground Coal Gasification (press release)

BP International and Ergo Exergy Technologies, Inc. today announced that they have signed a technical alliance agreement to work cooperatively on underground coal gasification (UCG) technology – the in-situ conversion of coal deposits into fuels and other products.

UCG offers the potential to produce fuels and hydrocarbon feedstock from coal deposits which may otherwise be unrecoverable. By introducing a carefully controlled supply of air or oxygen through wells into a coal seam, the coal can be reacted in situ to produce mixtures of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and other gases. These can be recovered to the surface through wells and used as fuel for power generation or as feedstock for the production of chemicals and other hydrocarbon products.

Ergo Exergy have world-leading experience in the development of UCG technology and are active in licensing their εUCG™ technology to commercial UCG projects. Founded over 15 years ago, their expertise and technology has been used in the two most successful UCG projects in recent years: the latest, in South Africa.

BP has long experience and extensive activities managing and producing coal bed methane and other gas resources, using world-leading technologies and expertise in seismic interpretation, directional drilling and fracturing techniques. In addition to the company’s global reach, BP has extensive major project management experience.