The Minister
of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan informed
the Lok Sabha in a written reply today that the Government has taken
steps to explore and exploit Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Shale Gas and Gas
Hydrates. For Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), the policy has not been
finalized by Ministry of Coal.
In order to
harness CBM potential in the country, the Government of India has awarded 33
CBM blocks under 4 rounds of CBM bidding and on nomination basis. Total
prognosticated CBM resources for 33 awarded blocks is about 63.3 TCF (1792.43
BCM) of which so far, 9.9 TCF (280.8 BCM) has been established as Gas – In –
Place (GIP). As on date, 8 CBM blocks have entered the Development Phase, 5
blocks are in exploration phase and for 4 CBM blocks grant of PEL from the
respective State Government is awaited. 16 CBM blocks have been relinquished or
are under relinquishment.
The
Government has, on 14.10.2013, notified the policy guidelines for exploration
and exploitation of shale gas and oil by National Oil Companies (NOCs)
in their onland PEL(Petroleum Exploration Lease) /PML (Petroleum Mining Lease)
blocks awarded under the nomination regimes. Under the first phase of
assessment (3 years) 55 PEL/PML blocks (ONGC 50, and OIL – 5) have been awarded
to NOCs. These blocks are located in the states of Assam (6 blocks), Arunachal
Pradesh (1 block), Gujarat (28 blocks), Rajasthan (1 block), Andhra Pradesh (10
blocks) and Tamil Nadu (9 blocks). ONGC has drilled one well and spudded
another well in Cambay Basin, Gujarat for assessment of shale gas/shale oil
potential where coring has been completed. In addition, ONGC has collected
cores from another 8 wells.
The National
Gas Hydrate Programme (NGHP) was formulated by MoP&NG in 2000. The first
NGHP Expedition – 01 was launched 2006, wherein coring was done at 21 sites in
Western, Eastern and Andaman offshore areas to obtain information on presence
of Gas Hydrates. The data so collected has established Gas Hydrates deposits in
KG, Mahanadi and Andaman offshore areas.
NGHP
Expedition – 02 is in progress wherein 40 wells shall be drilled/cored in KG
and Mahanadi offshore areas to obtain information on sand prone Gas Hydrates.
As on 31.03.2015, Logging while drilling (LWD)/ Measuring while drilling (MWD)
operations have been completed in 12 wells.
A Multi
Organizational Team (MOT) of DGH, ONGC, OIL, GAIL was formed by MoPNG to analyse
the existing data set and suggest methodology for Shale Gas development in
India.
Based on
scrutiny of geo-scientific data, MOT has identified six prospective basins
namely, Cambay, Krishna-Godavari onland, Cauvery onland, Assam-Arakan and
Indo-Gangetic for assessment of Shale Gas potential. ONGC and OIL are presently
permitted to carry out Shale Gas and Oil exploration and exploitation
activities in the PEL/PML areas awarded under nomination regime.
The Shale
Gas/Oil data generated by ONGC and OIL is reviewed by DGH and maintained by the
National Oil companies.
Various
agencies have estimated the shale gas and oil resource potential in selected
sedimentary basins/ sub basins in India. The details are as under:
i. M/s Schlumberger: 300 to 2100
tcf of shale gas in the country (as available in public domain);
ii. Energy Information Administration
(EIA), USA in 2011: 290 tcf of shale gas in four basins namely, Cambay, KG,
Cauvery and Damodar;
iii. United States Geological Survey
(USGS) in Jan’12: 6.1 tcf of technically recoverable shale gas in 3 basins,
namely, Cambay, KG & Cauvery.
iv. EIA, USA in 2013: 584 tcf of
shale gas and 87 Billion barrel of shale oil in 4 basins namely, Cambay, KG,
Cauvery and Damodar;
v. ONGC in 2013: 187.5 tcf of shale
gas in 5 basins namely, Cambay, KG, Cauvery, Ganga & Assam and Assam –
Arakan;
vi. Central Mine Planning and Design
Institute (CMPDI) in Jul’13: 45 tcf of Shale Gas in Gondwana basin;
The
policy guidelines for exploration and exploitation of Shale Gas and Oil by
National Oil Companies (ONGC and OIL) in their onland Petroleum Exploration
License (PEL) / Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) areas awarded under the nomination
regimes, was issued on 13th October, 2013. As per the policy, ONGC
and OIL will undertake a mandatory minimum work programme in a fixed time frame
for shale gas and oil exploration and exploitation. Under the first phase of
assessment (3 years) 55 PEL/PML areas (ONGC 50, and OIL – 5) have been awarded
to NOCs.
MJPS/Rk