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State-run Indian explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)
"We hope to take up at least 10 wells for parameters this year and to start commercial drilling next year," Sudhir Vasudeva told reporters.
Govt approved a policy to allow state-owned companies to start exploration for shale oil and gas last month, as the world's fourth-biggest energy consumer moves slowly to seek alternatives to expensive oil imports.
Of about 356 blocks held by ONGC and Oil India Ltd
India could be sitting on as much as 96 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of recoverable shale gas reserves, equivalent to about 26 years of its gas demand, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
