ONGC will have to wait two weeks for detailed shale gas data

Oil and gas major ONGC will require another 10-14 days to complete the study on output potential from country's first shale gas well after trial exploration.

"We hope to take another 10-14 days to complete the data analysis of gas output potential as de-watering of the well is still going on," said a senior ONGC official looking into the shale gas prospects on condition of anonymity.

ONGC hit upon shale gas indication in January. It was the first company in the country to hit upon what could possibly be Asia's largest shale gas deposit in West Bengal. Damador basin exploration for shale gas is part of a pilot project by ONGC.

"ONGC will test four zones of the same well and after that only we can give some better picture of the findings and could only be possible when complete water is pumped out of the well," he added.

Technical data has been analysed both in India and US labs.

If this project is successful, it could result in a major boost to India’s natural gas supplies over the next few years.

Shale gas, which is natural gas trapped in shale rock formations, has emerged as an important energy source in the US over the past few years and now accounts for almost one-fourth of natural gas supply there.

Last year, Reliance Industries acquired stakes in three shale gas projects in the US with a total investment of over $4 billion.

ONGC engineers and technical staff had started the first shale gas well exploration in the state from September 2010.

While, no detailed studies have been conducted so far, India may be holding up to 500 trillion cubic feet of shale gas reserves.

ONGC proposes to drill four pilot production wells in West Bengal and Jharkhand, which is expected to cost it Rs 170 crore as against the original estimates of Rs 128 crore in March 2010. ONGC has awarded the project to Terra Tek of Schlumberger.