Abstract: The Institut Fuer Erdoel- und Erdgasforschung (German Petroleum Institute) - Present Activities and Future Plans

Dagobert G. Kessel

The Institut fuer Erdoel- und Erdgasforschung (IfE) is an independent public organisation. It performs basic and applied research in the fields production, transport, processing and application of oil and gas and related environmental problems.

The Institute, which has a staff of 100, is financed by the Federal Government of Germany and the Federal States which contribute equally to the Institute's "basic" budget. It also receives income from third parties. including industry sources, the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT) and the CEU.

IfE has a number of active collaborations with industry and other research institutions in its field of activity, both in Germany and internationally. As well as supporting the petroleum industry through its research, it also contributes to the education and training of specialists for the industry.

Research capability at IfE is especially strong in the areas of:

-- Improved oil and gas recovery:
-- Characterisation of crude oils, especially heavy and extra-heavy crudes and mineral oil products;
-- Chemistry, especially colloidal chemistry, of crudes;
-- Lubricating oils;
-- hydrocarbons-related environmental issues.

Recent environmental research aims at establishing standard methods for the investigation of hydrocarbons and heavy metals in soils and water.

The activities of the Institute are linked therefore to the needs of both the upstream and downstream oil and gas industries.

For the future increased demand for research in the fields:

-- natural gas production, transport, and processing, and
-- hydrocarbon-related environmental problems is foreseen.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90956©1995 AAPG International Convention and Exposition Meeting, Nice, France