India's ONGC Has Massive Shale Exploration Plans

Indian state owned energy major ONGC has plans to go in for substantial shale oil and gas exploration program.

The company is looking to drill as many as 17 wells in both east and west coasts, news agency Press Trust of India reported Sunday citing minutes of a recent meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of Ministry of Environment and Forests.

ONGC has sought the ministry's nod to prepare Terms of Reference for exploring the wells.

This would be first time the company would take up shale exploration at such a massive scale. Also, it first time that it has taken up shale gas exploration in the Krishna-Godavari basin, Press Trust reported.

According to the minutes, ONGC sought permission for drilling 11 exploratory wells for shale oil/shale gas in Cambay basin at Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Bharuch districts of western Indian state of Gujarat, one well in Cauvery basin at Nagapattinam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and five wells in KG Basin at East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, a state situated on India's east coast.

According to a report released in 2013 by US Energy Information Agency, India has 63 trillion cubic feet of shale gas reserves.