ONGC to Increase Focus on Shale Gas

India’s state owned energy firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is looking to concentrate on exploring shale gas in the country.

The company has tasted success at its pilot project in the Damodar basin and has also tied up with ConocoPhillips to explore and develop the Cambay, Krishna Godavari (KG), Cauvery and Bengal basins.

Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC Sudhir Vasudeva said, "We would be working with ConocoPhillips to explore Cambay, KG, Cauvery and Bengal basins for shale gas."

With India’s shale gas policy expected to be in place soon, at least 100 blocks would be up for grabs in the bidding process, expected to start by the end of this year, Business Standard said in a report.

During the first round of auctions, the government plans to cover the three major basins of Cambay, Krishna-Godavari and Raniganj, the financial daily said. In the initial exploration stage, the round is likely to see an investment of about $2 billion. According to reserved estimates by the oil and gas ministry, the three belts scheduled to be auctioned in the first round have estimated shale reserves of 12-15 trillion cubic feet, of which two to six trillion cubic feet are immediately recoverable.

India has the potential to produce about 63 trillion cubic feet of shale gas.