Gas flows from India's first coalbed methane block (Lead)

Dec 13, 2007, 10:48 GMT

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) India has started producing coalbed methane (CBM) - a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds - and has already drawn 4.7 million standard cubic metres till Oct 31 since production started on July 14, the oil minister said.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora was replying to a question raised here Thursday in a meeting of a parliamentary consultative committee.

The meeting was held on the eve of the scheduled launch of the seventh round of bidding under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) for auctioning hydrocarbon blocks.

Commercial production and sale of CBM has commenced on July 14 this year from the Raniganj South block in West Bengal operated by Great Eastern Energy Corp Ltd, he said while chairing the meeting.

'By 2015, the entire area of Indian sedimentary basins is likely to be under exploration, of which 80 percent is targeted to be covered during the 11th plan period (2007-12),' the minister informed the committee.

After conclusion of auctioning under the sixth round of NELP, 44 percent of the Indian sedimentary basin area are being explored for oil and gas, Deora said.

The area under exploration increased four times after the introduction of the NELP regime.

Before NELP, only 11 percent of the Indian sedimentary basin area was explored, he pointed out.

While speaking on the marketing of gas from the Panna-Mukta-Tapti (PMT) fields, Deora said that GAIL India Ltd will be nominated by the government to receive the gas for the entire period of the production sharing contract.

It had been decided that the PMT joint venture will commence supplies of all non-contracted or surplus quantities to GAIL immediately, he said

'This would help in ensuring greater availability of natural gas to the fertiliser and power sectors,' Deora said.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service