The government today awarded the first five blocks for coal bed methane exploration and production in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Reliance and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have bagged exploration rights in two blocks each, while the fifth one went to Essar Oil Ltd.
The five blocks involve an investment of over Rs 200 crore ($60 million) for exploitation of 235 billion cubic metres of low-pressure methane gas trapped in coal beds. The gas would primarily be used as feedstock for fertiliser units and could also be compressed as compressed natural gas, petroleum minister Ram Naik said. While ONGC has got rights for two blocks at Bokaro and North Karanpura in Jharkhand, Reliance has bagged East and West Sohagpur in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. Essar will explore the gas in eastern Raniganj in West Bengal. The government is likely to announce two more exploration and production contracts, which have been awarded to a consortium of ONGC and Coal India on nomination-basis, next week.
A pilot contract had already been signed with Great Eastern Energy Corporation, Naik added.