On February 21, Cairn Oil & Gas, a Vedanta group company, stated that it had discovered oil in an exploration well in Rajasthan’s Barmer area.
The company stated it has alerted the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas about the oil discovery in a block it was given under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy, according to a regulatory filing (OALP).
The Management Committee, the block monitoring panel, has also been informed of the discovery uncovered in the OALP block, according to Vedanta.
“The company has notified the Management Committee, DGH and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on February 21, 2022 of an oil discovery (named ‘Durga’) in its exploratory well WM-Basal DD Fan-1 drilled in OALP Block RJ-ONHP-2017/1 in Barmer District of Rajasthan,” Vedanta said.
‘Durga’ is the name given to the find.
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According to the corporation, the consent of the block monitoring panel, known as the Management Committee, has also been requested.
In October 2018, the company secured 41 areas in the first phase of the open acreage licencing policy (OALP) bid round.
Cairn Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Mumbai-listed Vedanta Ltd., owns the entire block.
“Durga-1 (earlier WM-Basal DD Fan-1) is the second well drilled in Block RJ-ONHP-2017/1 to a depth of 2615 meters,” the firm said.
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This is the third hydrocarbon discovery notified by the company under the OALP portfolio.
“During the drilling of the well, four hydrocarbon zones were encountered in the Dharvi Dungar (DD) formation of the Late Paleocene to Early Eocene age,” it said.
The RJ-ONHP-2017/1 Block is located in the Gudamalani and Chohtan Tehsils of Rajasthan’s Barmer district.
The block is close to the highly productive Rajasthan block, which produces roughly 150,000 barrels of oil and gas per day.
Separately, the firm stated that by 2050, it intends to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
“The company is committed to investing USD 4 billion over 3-4 years to double its production, and the newly announced ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) roadmap will enable the company to achieve this vision sustainably,” it said in a statement.
Vedanta founder and chairman Anil Agarwal said, “Our oil and gas business is today well-positioned to meet India’s energy needs and growth aspirations.”
“Guided by the philosophy of ‘zero harm, zero waste, zero discharge’, we have formulated robust ESG targets for our operations which will help India’s energy sector become more efficient and enable the country’s journey towards aatmanirbharta,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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