ET: As government readies shale policy, companies like RIL, Cairn, Essar bet on shale gas exploration

Indian energy firms Reliance Industries, Cairn India and Essar Oil have put shale oil and gas exploration and marketing on their priority list, encouraged with forecasts that the shale boom in North America will dislodge OPEC's hegemony over global energy trade.

Companies are preparing plans as the government is giving final touches to the shale policy to kick-start the hunt for other sources of natural gas in the energy-hungry country. India is already producing gas from coal seams and importing LNG for its growing energy needs.

While RIL may ship a portion of the shale gas produced in its acreages in the US to India, Cairn says it has seen a significant potential for shale oil and gas in the Barmer block, which is home to the country's largest onland oil block, and is lobbying with the government to allow private oil firms to explore shale potential in their existing oil and gas acreages.  MORE