In a significant development, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has announced that natural gas has been discovered in the Andaman basin, confirming the long-held belief that the Andaman Sea is rich in natural gas. In a social media post last night, the Minister said, an ocean of energy opportunities has opened up in the Andaman Sea. Expressing happiness, Mr Puri informed about the occurrence of natural gas in the Sri Vijayapuram 2 well at a distance of 9.20 Nautical mile (17 km) from the shoreline on the east coast of the Andaman Islands at a water depth of 295 metres and target depth of 2,650 metres.
He said, initial production testing of the well in the range of 2212 – 2250 meters has established the presence of natural gas with intermittent flaring. He further stated that the gas samples were brought by ship to Kakinada, were tested and found to be 87 per cent methane. According to the Minister, the size of the gas pool and commercial viability of the discovery will get verified in the coming months but establishing the presence of hydrocarbons in the Andaman basin is a major step in confirming their long-held belief that Andaman basin is rich in natural gas, in line with discoveries in the entire area from Myanmar in North to Indonesia in the south in this belt.
Mr Puri said, under the deepwater mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day last month, large number of deepwater exploration wells are planned in our offshore basins in order to find new discoveries and fully exploit our hydrocarbon reserves. He emphasized that the occurrence of natural gas will help the country take forward its exploration ambitions in coordination with global deepwater exploration experts, and will be a significant milestone in India’s journey through Amrit Kaal.
Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day address had announced the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, which aims to explore oil and gas reserves in the sea. Terming it “Samudra Manthan,” he had said, the initiative will be executed in mission mode, highlighting India’s push for self-reliance in the energy sector.
