Coal India to begin shale gas hunt across the country

Following in the footsteps of Reliance Industries, ONGC and a few others, Coal India has now decided to go for shale gas, the greener energy source.

The near-monopoly state-owned coal miner, which has of late started looking at alternative energy sources, has begun a process to study deposits of shale gas in all existing coal blocks by inviting applications from research organisations.

“The existence of a huge sedimentary basin and reported occurrence of thick pile of shale in the Gondwana basin (in central India) enhances the chance of getting commercially viable shale gas deposit in India. A study is required to assess potentiality of shale gas prospect in Gondwana and in other sedimentary basins of the country for possible exploitation and its utilisation,” Coal India said on Wednesday in a document explaining the rationale for undertaking the study.

According to preliminary estimates, India’s shale gas reserve may be larger than the conventional gas deposit and has the potential of being the new and significant contributor to gas supply.
Supply of natural gas in India lags behind demand and by 2015 the gas demand is expected to rise to 120 billion cubic metres (BCM) a year from 62 BCM per year in 2010, consultancy firm Deloitte said in a report on shale gas prospects in India.

In theory, a number of sedimentary basins like Gangetic plain, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and other coastal areas including the hydrocarbon bearing ones like Cambay, Assam-Arkana, and  Damodar have large shale deposits.