Press Release - Inge AG

inge GmbH
Flurstr. 27
86926 Greifenberg
Germany
Phone
+49 8192 997 –700
Fax
+49 8192 997-999
E-mail
info@inge.ag
Internet
www.inge.ag
Press Release
P 267/12e
Managing Board
Bruno Steis (CEO)
Dr. Peter Berg (CTO)
Dr. Tilo Habicher
Ultrafiltration system for the oil industry:
VWS Westgarth chooses inge ultrafiltration technology
The German company inge GmbH – a global technology leader in
ultrafiltration technology and a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF – has been
awarded a contract by the British company VWS Westgarth to deliver more
than 600 dizzer® ultrafiltration modules. A subsidiary of the world's largest
water treatment company Veolia Water, VWS Westgarth is inge's first
customer from the oil production industry. The membranes supplied by inge
will provide some 2,600 m³ of treated sea water an hour which will be used in
the oil extraction process on a drilling platform.
Greifenberg, 16.05.2012 – The company inge GmbH, which is based in the town of
Greifenberg in Bavaria, Germany, has signed a deal with the British company VWS
Westgarth to supply ultrafiltration technology to treat water on an oil rig. “We are
tremendously proud to see a prominent and prestigious company like VWS
Westgarth choosing to put its trust in our technology,” states Bruno Steis, CEO of
inge GmbH. “The oil and gas production industry is a strategically important market
for us. According to one recent forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA),
global energy demand – and thus demand for oil and gas – is set to rise by a third
by 2035. VWS Westgarth is an important customer to have on our books in this
promising market.”
VWS Westgarth has ordered a total of more than 600 dizzer® modules for an
ultrafiltration system with a capacity of some 62,000 m3/day (approx. 391,000
BWPD). The ultrafiltration pretreatment stage will deliver fine filtered seawater
(0.01 µm) to the Sulphate Removal Package (SRP), which will then feed the water
injection pumps.
The water is pumped into the rock formations that lie beneath natural gas and oil
fields in order to counteract the steady drop in pressure that occurs during the
extraction process. Injecting water to maintain the pressure is the only way of
ensuring consistently high oil recovery rates. The level of purity of water pumped
into the rock is important because this has a major impact on both the quality and
recovery rates and thus the costs of the oil extraction process.

inge GmbH
Flurstr. 27
86926 Greifenberg
Germany
Phone
+49 8192 997 –700
Fax
+49 8192 997-999
E-mail
info@inge.ag
Internet
www.inge.ag
Managing Board
Bruno Steis (CEO)
Dr. Peter Berg (CTO)
Dr. Tilo Habicher
To guarantee the quality of the injected water on the drilling platforms, VWS
Westgarth has chosen to deploy ultrafiltration technology based on inge’s patented
Multibore ® membrane. Thanks to its special honeycomb design, the Multibore ®
membrane is extremely robust and requires minimal maintenance, making it the
perfect choice to withstand the harsh environment of an oil platform. The pores in
the membranes are so tiny that they are capable of filtering suspended solids and
microorganisms out of the water by purely physical means. In addition, inge's
break-proof Multibore ® membrane is considered to be the most reliable product of
its kind on the market. Ultrafiltration provides a significant weight/footprint reduction
and improved water quality compared with conventional seawater filtration
technology.
VWS Westgarth is an upstream water treatment specialist and a member of the
VWS Oil & Gas, part of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies. VWS Westgarth
has extensive experience in water treatment solutions in the oil and gas production
sector and in desalination systems for industry and the public sector. The company
has more than 9,600 employees and is present in 57 countries.
About inge GmbH
inge GmbH, based in Greifenberg, Germany employs more than 80 staff and is a
world's leading provider of ultrafiltration technology, a membrane process used to
treat drinking water, process water, wastewater and sea water.
With a global reach enhanced by its network of partners, the company has
completed numerous reference products around the globe featuring its cuttingedge
technology. Since August 2011, inge has been part of BASF, the world’s
leading chemical company.
Its range of products include highly-efficient ultrafiltration modules and costeffective,
space-saving rack designs as the core components of water treatment
plants, rounded off by the superb technical support it provides to its customers.
All the company's products are based on the in-house development of its patented
Multibore ® membrane technology, providing the top-quality standards for which
German-made goods are famous. The extremely small-pore filters of the
Multibore ® membrane reliably intercept not only particles, but also microorganisms
such as bacteria or even viruses, thereby providing a dependable source of clean
water. Deployment of the inge technology also offers significant advantages over

inge GmbH
Flurstr. 27
86926 Greifenberg
Germany
Phone
+49 8192 997 –700
Fax
+49 8192 997-999
E-mail
info@inge.ag
Internet
www.inge.ag
Managing Board
Bruno Steis (CEO)
Dr. Peter Berg (CTO)
Dr. Tilo Habicher
conventional water treatment methods, such as rapid and easy module installation
and stable, highly resilient membranes. This makes planning a water treatment
facility much simpler, enabling customers to achieve low-cost installation and
operation. And all this comes with a guarantee of long-lasting reliability. For more
information about inge GmbH please click here www.inge.ag.
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its
portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop
protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social
responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we
enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs
of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources,
ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We
have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry
for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had
more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded
on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further
information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
About BASF's Business Water Solutions
The product range of BASF’s business Water Solutions includes products used in
the key processes of municipal and industrial water treatment: Products to clarify
the raw water used for the production of drinking water, treating the waste water
stream and reducing sludge volumes as well as for the treatment of industrial
process water and the protection of cooling towers and boilers. Our products are
marketed worldwide. We are one of the leading suppliers. BASF estimates the
market of the growth field water at 20 billion € with a sales potential of more than
800 million €. Further information on our products can be found at:
www.watersolutions.basf.com.
inge GmbH
Flurstraße 27
86926 Greifenberg, Germany
Press contact:
Daniela Drössler
Phone.: +49 8192 997-718
Fax: +49 8192 / 997-999
E-mail: ddroessler@inge.ag
BASF SE
Water Solutions
67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
Press contact:
Christine Sickinger
Phone: +49 621 60 58865
Fax: +49 621 60 6658865
E-mail: christine.sickinger@basf.com