The exploration of natural gas in Mannargudi block in Tiruvarur district will begin by the year-end, according to president and chief operating officer of Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEECL), Prashant Modi.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Modi said that his company, which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for production of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) in the state in 2010, got the requisite environmental clearance and petroleum exploration licence to tap the lignite basin which shows remarkable similarity with Powder River basin of United States, which is a prolific CBM producer.
The estimated gas in place as per the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons is 0.98 trillion cubic feet (TCF). “We are awaiting procedural approvals and once we get it, we will start drilling 50 core wells and 30 production wells by the year-end with an investment of `100 crore initially,” said Modi.
He added that initially the coal samples would be tested to ascertain what geology exists and the quality of lignite deposit in the 667 sqkm block. After that, the commercial production would start in a few years. “We are expecting to invest around `3,500 crore in the project,” Modi added.
GEECL is the fully integrated CBM company in India. It already produces CBM from a block in Raniganj in West Bengal, and supplies to various industrial consumers. “We supply compressed natural gas to vehicles in Asansol-Durgapur belt in West Bengal through the outlets of Indian Oil Corporation and BPCL under a franchise agreement,” Modi said.
Comments
0 comment