India pushes shale round back to 2013

"We are pursuing the development of shale gas in the country. We have undertaken the mapping of shale gas resources and are working to put in place a regulatory regime for licensing round in shale gas by December 2013," Indian Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy told journalists in New Delhi on Tuesday.

India has been planning to launch a shale gas round since 2011, but the time-line for launching the new rounds has been revised on various occasions.

Six basins have been identified by the Indian government for shale gas exploration. This includes Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Gondawana, KG onshore, Cauvery onshore and Indo Gangetic basins.

India plans to emerge as a potential shale gas player, holding an estimated 15 billion tonnes of recoverable reserves out of 137 billion tonnes in place, given an expected recovery rate of between 10% and 15%.

Indian upstream regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) is preparing a resource assessment and policy framework for the upcoming rounds and it is also in the process of identifying potential acreage to be auctioned.

The current production sharing contract for oil and gas exploration does not cover unconventional resources, prompting the Indian government to set up a similar framework for shale gas.

The DGH, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Gail and Oil India have teamed up on the government’s behalf and a memorandum of understanding was signed last November with the US on technical cooperation.

The US Geological Survey is performing studies on India’s shale gas resources and will provide its report to the government.

ONGC has teamed up with US contractor Schlumberger to explore for shale in the Gondwana and Cambay basins.

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