Essar Oilfields Plans to Buy Six Rigs for CBM Drilling in India

Essar Oilfields Services is planning to buy six specialised on-shore drilling rigs at a cost of about $36 million for coal bed methane (CBM) drilling contracts in India.

The company sees significant opportunities in the CBM exploration sector, as new blocks are set to launch exploration in the coming months.

“While two of them have arrived, the rest are scheduled for delivery from the US during the year. These rigs have greater mobility as required in CBM drilling, as they have to be quickly moved from one well to another,” Ankur Gupta, CEO, told Business Line.

Gupta said at least 500 CBM wells could be taken up for drilling by different operators, including group company Essar Oil, ONGC and Reliance, this year, Business Line reported. Essar Oil alone has got four blocks for CBM exploration, with plans to take up 300 wells this year.

“Currently, we have deployed the new rigs for CBM drilling contracts in West Bengal,” he said.

With 500 new wells to be taken up for CBM exploration, it is estimated that India would require at least 25 rigs to meet the demand, given than each well would need a minimum 10-day drilling.