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| Essar, Arrow, Great Eastern to invest $158 mn in CBM blocks |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Jul 29, 2010, 18:04 IST |
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Essar Oil, Australia's Arrow Energy and Great Eastern Energy will invest $158 million in seven coal bed methane (CBM) blocks, for which contracts were signed with the government today.
"These (seven) blocks located in the states of Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Tamil Nadu would bring committed investment of $158 million," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasad said at the signing of Production Sharing Contracts (PSC).
Essar Oil, which was the biggest winner of the recently-concluded fourth round of CBM bidding, signed PSCs for four blocks. Arrow Energy signed contracts for two CBM blocks through two separate joint ventures with Oil India Ltd and Tata Power, while one block went to the Great Eastern Energy Corporation.
Till date, 33 blocks have been awarded and more than 300 CBM wells drilled, he said. "You are aware that three CBM blocks have already entered development stage and they are expected to produce 7 million standard cubic metres per day of gas by the year 2013-14."
With the signing of seven CBM blocks today, new area -- totalling 3,727 sq km -- will become available for exploration and exploitation of gas lying below coal seams. CBM resources in these areas are estimated at 330.23 billion cubic metres.
"Total CBM resources in the country are of the order of 92 trillion cubic feet, of which only 8.9 tcf have been established," Prasada said.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said that about 100,000 cubic metres of CBM gas was currently being produced in the country.
"Although the current volume of CBM production appears to be negligible, when compared with the total natural gas production of about 150 million standard cubic meters per day in the country, this CBM gas production has the capability of generating 20 mega watts electricity," he said.
India imports 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement. The CBM, along with gas output from the Krishna Godavari basin, would help reduce the country's import dependence.
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