India Promotes Shale Oil & Gas Extraction Programme To Fulfil Energy Needs

India is willing to promote the shale oil and gas extraction programme to enhance the country’s share in the energy sector. The Indian government has asked companies to submit a plan for oil and gas exploration.

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India granted rights for exploring shale oil and gas reserves to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) in 2013. After a significant gap of years, the Oil company is still struggling to find resources.

Indian Directorate General of Hydrocarbons for oil and gas reserves held a meeting with the delegates from public and private sector companies. The meeting was conducted to ask companies to extract shale resources in the oil and gas regions held by them. An executive present in the meeting said: “The idea is to bring shale on the map of India or just close the chapter once and for all within three years.”

There is a shortage of gas in India. Hence, India imports approximately half of its annual natural gas consumption. Indian PM Narendra Modi is willing to see India grow as a gas-based economy and bring in a significant share of 15 per cent into the energy sector by 2030.

“A joint group plan is also being explored which will act as a platform of knowledge and infrastructure sharing which could help in expediting shale development,” an official said.

Presently, three Indian firms are producing CBM gas. The three firms private and one public sector firm producing CBM are Reliance Industries Ltd, Essar Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Limited, Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited and, Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd. The CBM is a sort of natural gas obtained from coal deposits. The first shale extraction will take place in the Damodar Valley basin, eastern India.