What is shale gas | Shale gas in India | Shale gas exploration in India


Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. It is the new focus area in the U.S., Canada and China as an alternative to conventional oil and gas for meeting growing energy needs. Shale gas is one of the predominant unconventional natural gas and major source of onland gas particularly in the US and Canada. In US, shale gas production contributes to nearly 17 per cent of the total gas production. In January 2011, ONGC found initial gas-in-place estimate of 300-2,100 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of Indian shale gas basins (300 times higher than Reliance’s Krishna Godavari D6).
Latest News on Shale Gas of India
25 Sep, 2011 : Arunachal Pradesh - India's treasure trove of shale oil. From 1990 onward, Chudamani Ratnam, former chief of Oil India Ltd, repeatedly claimed that India had a treasure trove of shale oil in Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of the north-east. He said these deposits could produce 140 million tonnes per year for 100 years, making India a net oil exporter. However, the deposits looked uneconomic, so he was not taken seriously. Analysts laughed when he suggested that China might one day invade Arunachal Pradesh to grab the oil. But a new technology - "fracking" in the US has hugely reduced the cost of extracting shale oil. It is a kind of of horizontal drilling followed by injection of high pressure water, sand and chemicals. This "fracks" open the shale and allows gas to flow. Shale gas production is now booming in the US, and will meet a quarter of US needs by 2020. Top Indian oil companies, from Reliance to BPCL, have acquired stakes abroad in shale gas companies to gain fracking expertise, to be used later in India.

May 10, 2011 : India working on shale gas policy framework. India will soon launch its first-ever bid round for exploration of shale gas, oil regulator DGH Director General S.K. Srivastava said.“As per the available data and studies undertaken, India has huge shale gas potential. Six basins, namely Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Gondawana, KG onshore, Cauvery onshore and Indo Gangatic basins, have been identified”

27 Jan, 2011: ONGC finds maiden shale gas reserves in India. ONGC created an exploration landmark when gas flowed out from the Barren Measure shale at a depth of around 1,700 meters, in its first R&D well RNSG-1 near Durgapur , West Bengal

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