India is witnessing a renewed surge in oil and fuel exploration, significantly in offshore areas, underscoring the nation’s huge untapped hydrocarbon potential, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri advised the Parliament on Tuesday.
Puri in Rajya Sabha said that the opening of almost a million sq. kilometres of erstwhile ‘No-Go’ offshore areas in 2022 has been a landmark growth. This transfer has unlocked vital exploration frontiers, particularly in deepwater and frontier areas such because the Andaman-Nicobar (AN) offshore basin, and has been instrumental in triggering the present momentum in offshore exercise, the Minister said, in response to the Ministry of Petroleum & Pure Fuel.
Since 2015, Exploration and Manufacturing (E&P) corporations working in India have reported 172 hydrocarbon discoveries, together with 62 in offshore areas, he stated. The Minister highlighted the geological significance of the Andaman-Nicobar basin, which lies throughout the Bengal-Arakan sedimentary system.
He said that the tectonic setting positioned on the boundary of the Indian and Burmese plates has led to the formation of quite a few stratigraphic traps which might be conducive to hydrocarbon accumulation.
This geological promise is additional amplified by the basin’s proximity to confirmed petroleum techniques in Myanmar and North Sumatra, he added. The area has attracted renewed world curiosity following vital fuel discoveries in South Andaman offshore Indonesia, underlining the geological continuity throughout the area, he said.
Whereas the beneficial geology units a robust basis, Puri emphasised that the true breakthrough has come from the federal government’s strategic coverage interventions and a brand new exploration method.
“The revised technique has enabled aggressive acquisition of seismic knowledge, initiation of each stratigraphic and exploratory drilling, and elevated engagement with worldwide exploration companions, a number of of whom have proven eager curiosity within the newly accessible frontier blocks,” the Minister added.
Puri stated that the nationwide Oil Firms have deliberate to drill 4 offshore stratigraphic wells, together with one within the AN basin.
“These scientific wells are designed to check geological fashions, validate the existence of petroleum techniques, and assist de-risk future industrial exploration. Though industrial accumulations haven’t but been confirmed, these efforts mark a serious step ahead in systematic and knowledge-driven hydrocarbon exploration,” he added in response to the Ministry’s launch.
In a major growth, ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) have launched an formidable exploration marketing campaign within the Andaman ultra-deepwater area. For the primary time, drilling operations are concentrating on depths of as much as 5000 metres.
Offering an summary of the exploration outcomes to this point, the Minister knowledgeable that ONGC has made hydrocarbon discoveries in 20 blocks, with an estimated reserve of 75 million metric tonnes of oil equal (MMTOE). OIL, on its half, has made seven oil and fuel discoveries over the previous 4 years, with reserves estimated at 9.8 million barrels of oil and a couple of,706.3 million customary cubic meters of fuel.
Referring to the Hydrocarbon Useful resource Evaluation Research (HRAS) of 2017, which estimated the AN basin’s hydrocarbon potential at 371 MMTOE, the Minister said {that a} 2D broadband seismic survey masking roughly 80,000 Line Kilometres (LKM) of India’s Unique Financial Zone, together with the AN offshore area, was accomplished in 2024.
Moreover, OIL acquired 22,555 LKM of 2D seismic knowledge in the course of the Deep Andaman Offshore Survey performed in 2021-22. A number of promising geological options have emerged from this knowledge, which are actually being validated via ongoing drilling campaigns by ONGC and OIL, Puri added in his reply.
