Essar Oil may begin drilling at Raniganj blocks soon

After a prolonged stalemate, Essar Oil may expect to commence second phase drilling of a little over 100 production wells at the Raniganj (East) coal-bed methane (CBM) block near Durgapur in West Bengal, sooner than later. The company is currently producing to the tune of 35,000 standard cubic metres of CBM gas a day (0.035 mmscmd) from 15 wells in the asset.

Drilling operations in the block were suspended for nearly 8-10 months due to non-availability of environmental clearance. Apart from procedural reasons, complaints against the company for alleged violation of environmental guidelines also contributed to the stalemate. The company has contracts in place to place to sell 2.8 mmscmd of gas to Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals beginning April 2012 to be set up near Durgapur. However, the delay in second phase drilling, may impact the production plan of the company.crackcrack