From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Oil India will explore the abundant shell gas available in Northeast India but ensure that its pristine environment is not affected, its Chairman and Managing Director, Nayan Mani Bora said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr Bora said that the company with its base in Assam will in no case do something which will affect the region’s environment. “We will be extremely careful not to disturb the environment of NE region,” he said in reply to a question.
Geologists have identified presence of shell gas in Gujarat, the Assam-Arakan basin and the Gondwana Basin. Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale and increasingly becoming a source of energy.
Mr Bora exuded confidence that the company has done well in the region even though others faced problems. But at the same time he denied that Oil India will take over oil and gas network of ONGC in Northeast.
Oil India a Navratna company the second-largest national oil company and its superior reservoir management skills have enabled it to grow, production by 5.3% per year over the past two years compared with a 3.1% annual decline for ONGC. OIL´s exploratory success rate of 76% is amongst the best globally and compares with the world average of 20%.
OIL is implementing improved oil recovery techniques to redevelop its maturing fields in Upper Assam basin where it has 94% of its gas reserves.
In this half yearly performance OIL has received highest ever profit as well as production which is a record, Mr Bora said after the end of the 14th Board Meeting which approved the results. OIL is involved in the exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and gas.
It also has an international presence through the exploration of crude oil and gas in Egypt, Gabon, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Timor Leste and Yemen.
OIL owns and operates, as a common carrier, a 1,157km cross-country crude oil pipeline which has the capacity to transport over 44m barrels of crude oil annually. OIL also owns and operates a 660km petroleum product pipeline connecting NRL to Siliguri .