Bio-remediation is an economically viable, environmentally sound solution to the destruction caused by the mishandling and spilling of petroleum and petro-chemical products. Bio-remediation can be defined as the ‘returning of a surface or object to a condition which is NOT HARMFUL TO PLANT, ANIMAL OR HUMAN LIFE.

Most oil spill response techniques involve transportation of hydrocarbons damaging a particular area; however this merely relocates the problem. Bio-remediation is focused on the transformation of an area and although a relatively new field, one that has enormous potential.

At present there are numerous sites that have been identified as requiring bio-remediation, and in order to assess the size of the market, we have based our projections on available information, such as the tenders made available by the United Nations (in respect of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia), as well as on a number of global studies of damaged areas, where local authorities, as well as large corporates have begun the arduous process of bio-remediation.

The world bio-remediation market is calculated as: Tenders Issued by International Organisations US$ 5,2 billion (covering 14 sites) Sites Identified and tenders pending US$ 12,4 billion (covering 350 sites) Annexure No.10 -Graph B demonstrates the impact and scale of bio-remediation when compared to the purely product based hydrocarbon absorbent industry

The 1991 Arabian Gulf War resulted in the detonation, destruction, or ignition of 798 oil wells representing 87.3% of the 914 productive wells in Kuwait . The result - about 300 oil lakes covering an area in excess of 49km 2 and amounting to about 60 million barrels of oil - created an unprecedented environmental challenge, exacerbated by the unique and punishing conditions of the desert ecosystem. Immense potential exists for the use of Sunsorb™ to bolster the ongoing oil lake remediation efforts in Kuwait .

The number of lakes and the quantity of crude in such lakes makes the scope for such remediation exceptional. Based on the current volumes of more than 240 million liters, the remediation program will realize in excess of $400 million. The ' Public Authority for the Assessment of Compensation Resulting from Iraqi Aggression' (PAAC ) has already been awarded over $600 million for the reparation process by the European Union.