ONGC to invest Rs 7 billion for exploring shale gas and oil wells

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to explore 17 shale gas and oil wells in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh at an investment of about Rs 7 billion. The exploration comprises drilling 11 exploratory wells for shale oil/shale gas in the Cambay basin in the Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Bharuch districts of Gujarat, one well in the Cauvery basin at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and five wells in the Krishna-Godavari basin in the east and west Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh. These will involve investments of Rs 3.66 billion, Rs 2.17 billion and Rs 450 million respectively. The expert appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recommended the terms of reference for the projects.