Greka Drills Two CBM Wells for Essar in India
Greka Drilling has drilled two coal bed methane wells for Essar Oil in Raniganj block in India as per the contract signed earlier this year.
In an operational update published on Wednesday, Greka said the first well was spudded on May 8 and the drilling of a second well was completed by the same GD75 rig on June 5, with a total of 2,439 meters drilled over the course of 28 days.
Essar’s Raniganj block is located in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. Greka and Essar signed the contract in January this year. Essar had previously engaged Greka Drilling in late 2013 to provide drilling services on Raniganj East block and this contract was concluded in 2015 with a total of 16 wells being drilled. The current contract is for a period of one year and has an estimated value of around $8 million.
The company will drill a third well under the contract, which is expected to spud shortly, Greka said.
A second GD75 rig is in the process of being prepared for mobilisation under the same contract to help meet Essar's drilling needs in the Raniganj block, where Essar is the largest producer of coal bed methane in India.
Randeep S. Grewal, Chairman & CEO of Greka Drilling, commented: "There are a number of CBM resource holders in India who are now planning extended drilling campaigns and Greka Drilling will continue to be at the forefront of these developments."
The Indian government is looking to aggressively exploit country’s coal bed methane reserves to augment domestic gas supplies. Despite lot of talks and discussions about the sector, there has not been much progress. Private sector players say that large scale exploration is not economically viable at prevailing domestic prices.
The government, however, has expressed willingness to talk to the companies about the pricing issue.