ONGC board approves Rs 950 cr proposal for CBM production

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) The board of directors of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has approved the investment proposal of Rs 950 crore for exploration and development of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) in six blocks in Jharkhand and West Bengal.

With the formal board approval, ONGC has started the countdown for the first commercial production of CBM gas in India.

The projected schedule for production is June 2007. An estimated peak production of 7.84 lakh Cubic metres of gas per day is being targeted from the proposed development wells.

According to an ONGC release issued here today, out of the projected expenditure Rs 557 crore has been earmarked for the development of early CBM production in Central Parbatpur area of Jharia block.

An expenditure of Rs 392 crore has been approved for drilling completion and testing of 22 pilot wells in Jharia, Bokaro and North Karanpura CBM blocks, with completion schedule of 31 months, from the date of placement of Letter of Intent (LOI).

The Jharia CBM block is located within Jharia coalfield, around 25 kilometers east of Bokaro steel city. The total area of Jharia block is 84.5 square kilometer and the area under the present production scheme is 6 square kilometers.

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