GEECL Awarded Stake in India CBM Block

Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL), leading Indian coal bed methane (CBM) player has said that it has been awarded a 25% participating interest in Raniganj (North) block which was offered by ONGC through a competitive bidding process initiated in January, 2013.

Raniganj (North) is adjacent to the current Raniganj (South) block of the company in the state of West Bengal, India.  The Gas-in-Place in the entire Raniganj (North) as per the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) is 1.5 TCF. Great Eastern already has 100% ownership of the Raniganj (South) block.

GEECL accepted the offer on May 17, 2013, which is subject to execution of Farm-in related and Joint Operatorship agreements with ONGC (along with its consortium) and the approval from the Government of India, it said in a statement.

ONGC has offered stake in three coal bed methane blocks to strategic partners. Apart from the Raniganj block, the state owned firm has offered state in North Karanpura (Jharkhand), and Bokaro (Jharkhand) blocks.