This document by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, is a draft policy for the exploration and exploitation of Shale oil and gas in India. The consumption of natural gas has increased in the recent times and is projected to increase even more in the coming years. This is largely attributed to the availability of the gas at a much lower price as compared to the liquid fuel. Also it is a clean form of energy.
Harnessing the unconventional gas resource has been difficult for a long period of time due to technical challenges in drilling the gas. However with technological advancement companies have succeeded in exploiting some of the gas forms. Thanks to, specialized techniques such as horizontal drilling combined with fracturing of the rock that has led to exploit shale gas.
With a brief introduction on technological advancement that led to harnessing unconventional gas forms, the document then spells out the definition of shale oil and gas. Further it also lists the issues related to exploitation of the gas. The proposed policy for exploration and exploitation of shale gas and oil is elaborated in the next section. The fiscal aspects, the bidding process, the responsibilities of the empowered committee of secretaries are some of the other aspects that are elaborated in this document. The details of water management issues, fiscal and contract terms, bidding parameters are covered in the annexure of the document.
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