Anil Agarwal's Vedanta firms up shale play, to start exploration soon

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta is likely to initiate exploration related works for shale resources in its Rajasthan block. 

Vedanta will be the first private company to look into the prospects of unconventional hydrocarbon in oil and gas fields, after the government in August allowed operators to explore all unconventional hydrocarbons — including shale, coal bed methane and hydrates — in an area licensed to it. 

The company will kick off the initial testing for shale by December. “We will be starting testing for shale by the end of this year and exploration over the next two quarters,” said Sudhir Mathur, chief executive officer,