India's Andaman Region: A Hidden Treasure of Oil Reserves?
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri said India holds the potential of 'several Guyanas' in the Andaman region and outlined several measures taken by the government for exploration and production.
The minister said that the country has 3.5 million square kilometers of sedimentary basin, but it never explored beyond eight per cent area, keeping a large expanse of sea beds unexplored.
The minister's statement comes as India is putting in efforts to ramp up its own traditional fossil-based energy production.
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"There were parts of the sedimentary basin which were no-go areas. So one of the decisions which we took was that 1 million square kilometers of that sedimentary basin, which was no-go area, has suddenly been made available for E&P," Puri told ANI on Monday.
The petroleum minister said that the government has decided to explore a large part of the basin.
He said that India imported 80 per cent of oil and 50 per cent of natural gas, adding that even a 5-billion-barrel discovery would be a game-changer.
In the nine rounds of open acreage licensing policy, 38 per cent of the bids have come, covering 1 million square kilometers, the minister said, adding that the next round will attract more than 75 per cent of the bids.
"We've also issued some of the largest bids on offer anywhere -- something like 2.5 lakh square kilometers of area has been offered out on bidding," the minister said.
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He further said that India has the potential of around 42 billion tonnes of oil and gas in its sedimentary basins.
He, however, added that exploring offshore reserves are capital extensive, which is why it took so much time for the country to tap into the untapped potential under the seas.
"An onshore well costs something like USD 4 million on an average. I'm talking about global rates and dollar rates being held at a particular constant. And an offshore well costs about USD 100 million," he added.
Hardeep Puri also made a reference to Guyana, which recently discovered massive oil reserves, saying India has the potential for 'several Guyanas' in the Andaman region.
"They (Guyana) dug 46 wells and they didn't find any oil. It's when they dug the 47th one, they found oil. And then it became the largest find," he said.
"We have the potential of several Guyanas in the Andaman," he added.
Highlighting some of the recent oil discoveries, the minister said that Suryamani has a potential of 4 million metric tons worth of oil, while it is 1.2 million metric tons in Neelmani.
In another well, at a depth of 2,865 metres, both oil and gas reserves were found, the minister said, stressing that this is an "underestimation."
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