2 - M a r ch 2023

2
4 , O c t ober 20
No. 3 &
Vol 48,
 BIENNIAL EVENT OF MGMI

10THASIAN MINING CONGRESS & EXHIBITION 2023

The Asian Mining Congress (AMC) and Interna- Congress and Exhibition in this sequel will be held from
tional Mining Exhibition is a biennial flagship event November 06-08, 2023 at Kolkata.
organized by the Mining, Geological and Metallurgi-
The theme of 10 AMC is ‘Roadmap for Best Mining
cal Institute of India (MGMI). The 1st AMC and Exhi-
Practices vis-à-vis Global Transformation’. Techni-
bition were held in January 2006 to commemorate the
cal Sessions of the Congress will be held at Taal Kutir
Centenary of MGMI, followed by the 2nd in Jan-
Convention Centre, Rajarhat, Kolkata. The 10th Interna-
uary 2008, the 3rd in January 2010, the 4th in
tional Mining Exhibition (IME 2023) will be held at Eco
January 2012, the 5th in February 2014, the 6th in
Park, Rajarhat, Kolkata.
February 2016, the 7th in November 2017, the 8th in
November 2019 and the 9th AMC in April 2022. The Congress will provide a forum for promotion
These events were highly successful with and support of techno-scientific cooperation towards
participation of around 20 countries spread national and international progress in the areas of
over different parts of the globe along mineral production, in addition to the development of
with large participation of various mining new opportunities of sustainable business that will ben-
organizations in India. The 10th Asian Mining efit both Asian and the World Communities.

Principal Coordinators
Dr. B Veera Reddy : President, MGMI & Director (Technical), CIL
Shri Ranajit Talapatra : Honorary Secretary, MGMI & DGM, CIL

ORGANISERS
Conference (10 AMC) Exhibition (10 IME)
Chairman, Conference Manoj Kumar, CMD, Chairman, Exhibition Bhola Singh, CMD, NCL
CMPDI
Chairman, Technical Dr. Amalendu Sinha, Convener, Exhibition Dr. C S Singh
Committee Former Director, CSIR –
DGM, CIL
CIMFR
Co - Chairman, Shri D B Sundara Ramam Co-convener, Exhibition J P Goenka, MD, NMC
Conference Vice President, Tata
Steel
Convener, Conference Prasanta Roy, HOD Chairman, Buyer Seller V K Arora, Chief Mentor,
(Geology), CIL Meet KCT Bros. Ltd.

Contact for Conference : Contact for Exhibition:

The Mining, Geological & Metallurgical Institute of Tafcon Projects India Pvt. Ltd.
India 923 (9TH Floor), Devika Tower, 6 - Nehru Place
GN – 38/4, Salt Lake, Sector – V, Kolkata – 700 091, New Delhi -110048
INDIA
Tel : 91-11-49857777
Phone : +91 33 2357 3482 / 3987 / 6518
Fax : 91-11-49857778
Telefax +91 33 23573482
Mobile – 09891296397 (Mr Amit Kumar)
Website – www.mgmiindia.in
Email : [email protected] / [email protected]
E-mail : [email protected] /
offi[email protected]/ [email protected]
Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 • October - March • 2022 - 23

THEME
"Petroleum Industry in India :
Challenges and Opportunities"
 MGMI Council for 2022-23

Established 1906

President
Dr. B Veera Reddy
Director (Technical), Coal India Limited
Immediate Past Presidents
P M Prasad, Chairman cum Managing Director, Central Coalfields Limited
Anil Kumar Jha, Former Chairman, Coal India Limited
Vice-Presidents
J V Dattatreyulu, Former, Director (Operations), SCCL
Thomas Cherian, Managing Director, Essel Mining & Industries Limited
Bhola Singh, CMD, Northern Coalfields Limited
Jagdish Prasad Goenka, Managing Partner, Nanda Millar Company
Honorary Secretary
Ranajit Talapatra
DGM (WS), CIL
Immediate Past Secretaries
Rajiw Lochan
Former GM (CED/CBM), CMPDI
Prasanta Roy
HOD (Geology), CIL
Hony Jt Secretary Hony Editor Hony Treasurer
Dr. Chandra Shekhar Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh; Dr. Prabhat Kumar Mandal
Singh Former Scientist & Professor CSIR-CIMFR
DGM, CIL HOD, CSIR-CIMFRFF
Members

Virendra Kumar Arora Dr Netai Chandra Dey

Chief Mentor (Coal), KCT & Bros Professor, IIEST, Shibpur
Dr Jai Prakash Barnwal Dr Jai
Prof (Dr) Ganga Prasad Karmakar
PrakFormer Chief Scientist, RRL
Former Prof. IIT Kharagpur
Shri Bhaskar Chakraborty
Former, Dy. DG, GSI Tapas Kumar Nag
Former CMD, NCL
Prof (Dr) Ashis Bhattacharjee
Professor, IIT Kharagpur Peeyush Kumar
Anup Biswas Director Technical, Ministry of Coal
, Former Deputy Director General, Mines Safety
Prof (Dr) Bhabesh Chandra Sarkar
Pravat Ranjan Mandal Professor, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
Former Advisor (Projects), Ministry of Coal
Dr Kalyan Sen
Awadh Kishore Pandey
Former Director, CSIR-CIMFR
GM (Mining/HOD), MCL
Nityanand Gautam Dr Amalendu Sinha
Former Advisor, UNDP Former Director, CSIR-CIMFR
 A Quarterly Publication
MGMI NEWS JOURNAL
Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4, October - March, 2022 - 23
issn 0254-8003
Contents
1 President’s Message
4 Editorial - Introduction to the special issue - Petroleum Industry in india : Challenges and Opportunities
Headquarters' Activities
8 Minutes of 895th Council Meeting
11 Minutes of 896th Council Meeting
15 18th Foundation Day Lecture
19 News about Members
20 New Members
Chapter Activities
26 Calcutta Chapter
30 Nagpur Chapter
31 Odisha Chapter
34 Hyderabad Chapter
Interviews
35 Interview with Mr. Ashok Baran Chakraborty
41 Interview with Dr Manish Sinha
Perspective Piece
47 Past, Present and Future Journey of Petroleum Industry in India - T. N. Singh
Technical Articles
55 Exploring Downstream Activities in the Petroleum Industry - Manish Sinha and Ajay Kumar Singh
71 Scope and Opportunity of CO2 Sequestration for Enhanced Oil Recovery –
Shubham Prakash and Ajay Mandal
Technical Notes
82 Challenges and Prospects of Shale Gas Resources in India - Dheeraj Kumar Yarlagadda, Basanta Kumar
Prusty, Venkata Yasaswy Turlapati
87 Natural Gas : The Important Energy Resource - G P Karmakar
92 Spreading “Blue Flame Revolution” - Making it a Mass Movement - Vilas S Tawde
97 The Story of Dazzling Kashmir Sapphire - H L Mahajan
News and Views
100 Five Ways in which India’s Oil and Gas Sector could be Compatible with the Net-Zero Target-
Udayan Singh
104 News - Ashoknagar, WB, K-G Basin, Mumbai offshore
108 Letter to Editor - Binay Kumar Samanta
109 Obituary - L K Bose

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 Editorial Board

Honorary Editor : Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, Former Scientist, CSIR-CIMFR

Honorary Associate Editor : Mr Ranjit Datta, Former Director, GSI

Ex Officio Member : Mr Ranajit Talapatra, DGM (WS), CIL

Honorary Secretary, MGMI

Members : Mr Smarajit Chakrabarti, Former CMD, ECL

Prof Netai Chandra Dey, Professor, IIEST, Shibpur

Prof Rajib Dey, Professor, Jadavpur University

Dr Anupendu Gupta, Former Deputy Director General, GSI

Prof Keka Ojha, Prof. and HOD, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad

Prof Khanindra Pathak, Professor, IIT Kharagpur

Mr Alok Kumar Singh, TS to CMD, CCL

Dr Amit Kumar Verma, Associate Professor, Depatment of Civil &

Environmental Engineering, IIT, Patna
 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PETROLEUM

SECTOR IN INDIA

within the country and overseas. OIL has a strong pres-

ence in Northeast India and has been exploring oppor-
tunities in other countries as well. Reliance Industries,
a conglomerate with interests in various sectors, has
made significant investments in the upstream petroleum
sector, particularly in the offshore fields. However, the
industry faces several challenges, including declining
reserves, aging infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles.
The exploration and production of hydrocarbons require
significant capital investments, and the profitability of
the sector is dependent on global prices. Moreover,
environmental concerns have become a critical issue,
with increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies and the
public. Despite these challenges, there are several
The petroleum industry is a crucial part of India's opportunities for the upstream petroleum industry in
energy sector and plays a significant role in the coun- India. The country has large unexplored areas with
try's development and progress. India is the third-largest significant potential for hydrocarbon reserves, particu-
consumer of oil and gas in the world and heavily relies larly in the offshore fields. The government has been
on imports to meet its energy demands. The petro- encouraging private investment in the sector, with ini-
leum sector in India has contributed significantly to the tiatives such as the Open Acreage Licensing Policy
country's GDP and has provided numerous employ- (OALP) and the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) policy.
ment opportunities. The industry also plays a vital role in These policies aim to attract investments in the explora-
driving industrial growth and supporting various sectors, tion and production of hydrocarbons, thereby increas-
including agriculture, transport, and power. However, ing domestic production and reducing dependence on
the sector faces several challenges, such as infrastruc- imports.
ture development, environmental concerns, and geo- The downstream petroleum industry in India involves
political tensions. Nevertheless, the petroleum industry refining crude oil and processing natural gas to produce
in India continues to offer vast opportunities for invest- a range of products, including gasoline, diesel, LPG,
ment and growth, making it an essential sector for the and petrochemicals. The industry has been a significant
country's economic development. contributor to the country's economy, with a share of
The upstream petroleum industry in India has been a around 15% of the total exports. The sector is domi-
significant contributor to the country's economy. The nated by state-owned companies, but private players
sector involves exploration and production of crude oil have also made significant investments in recent years.
and natural gas. The country has moderate reserves Some of the leading refineries in India include Indian Oil
of petroleum and natural gas, and it has been trying Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corpora-
to reduce its dependence on imports by increasing tion Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corpo-
domestic production. Some of the leading exploration ration Limited (HPCL). IOCL is the largest oil refining
and production (E&P) companies operating in India company in India, with a total refining capacity of around
include Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Oil 80 million tonnes per annum. BPCL and HPCL are also
India Limited (OIL), and Reliance Industries. ONGC is major players in the sector, with refining capacities of
the largest E&P company in India, with operations both around 37 and 27 million tonnes per annum, respec-

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 1 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
tively. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Nayara En- India has abundant natural gas reserves and has been
ergy (NEL) are the private players operating the largest making efforts to increase its usage in recent years. The
refineries in India. The downstream petroleum industry country has around 1.4 trillion cubic meters of proven
in India faces several challenges, including aging infra- natural gas reserves, and there are significant pros-
structure, limited access to crude oil, and environmental pects for exploration and production of natural gas in
concerns. The refining industry requires significant cap- several parts of the country. The government has set
ital investments, and profitability is dependent on global a target of increasing the share of natural gas in India's
prices. Moreover, the sector has been facing increasing energy mix from the current 6% to 15% by 2030. Natu-
competition from renewable sources of energy, which ral gas is used in India primarily for power generation,
has been impacting the demand for traditional petro- fertilizers, and industrial applications. However, the
leum products. There are several opportunities as well. use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transpor-
The government has been encouraging investments tation fuel has been increasing in recent years. CNG
in the sector, with initiatives such as the National Bio- is widely used for public transportation, such as buses
fuel Policy and the Ethanol Blending Program. These and taxis, and private vehicles also. The government
policies aim to increase the use of bio-fuels and reduce has also been promoting the use of Piped Natural Gas
dependence on fossil fuels. Moreover, there is signifi- (PNG) for cooking and heating in households. Liquefied
cant potential for the development of petrochemicals Natural Gas (LNG) is imported into India, primarily from
and other value-added products, which can further Qatar and Australia, and is used in power generation
enhance the sector's contribution to the economy. and industrial applications. The government has been
promoting the use of LNG as a cleaner alternative to
The midstream petroleum industry in India plays a
coal for power generation. Despite the potential of natu-
crucial role in facilitating the transportation and storage
ral gas in India, there are several challenges that need
of oil and gas from production centres to end-users. It
to be addressed. The lack of infrastructure, such as
encompasses activities such as pipeline transporta-
pipelines and storage facilities, is a major impediment
tion, storage, and marketing of petroleum products. The
to the growth of the natural gas sector. The high cost of
Industry's contribution to India's economy is significant,
imported LNG and the pricing of domestic natural gas
with it being a major source of revenue for both the
are also major challenges. However, there are signifi-
government and private sectors. Some of the impor-
cant opportunities also in the natural gas sector in India.
tant companies in the midstream petroleum sector in
The government has been taking several measures to
India include GAIL India, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat
promote the use of natural gas, such as the develop-
Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum
ment of the National Gas Grid and the implementation
Corporation Limited, and Oil and Natural Gas Corpo-
of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) program. The CGD
ration Limited. These companies operate and manage
program aims to provide PNG and CNG to households
extensive pipeline networks and storage facilities,
and transportation vehicles in over 400 cities across
which form a critical part of the country's energy infra-
India. The government has also been offering incentives
structure. The midstream petroleum industry also faces
to attract investment in the natural gas sector, such as
several challenges, including inadequate infrastructure,
tax holidays and subsidies.
outdated technology, and regulatory hurdles. Addition-
ally, the industry is highly susceptible to environmental The Government of India launched the Ujjwala scheme
risks and security threats, which can impact its opera- in 2016 with the objective of providing free LPG connec-
tions. The midstream petroleum industry in India pres- tions to households living below the poverty line as a
ents several opportunities, including increasing demand social welfare initiative. The primary goal of the scheme
for energy, growing investments in infrastructure devel- is to encourage the use of clean cooking fuel and de-
opment, and rising adoption of new technologies. To crease indoor air pollution caused by traditional fuels
capitalize on these opportunities, companies in the sec- such as wood, coal, and kerosene. Currently, as of 1st
tor must focus on modernizing their infrastructure and March 2023, there are 9.59 crore beneficiaries of the
operations, investing in research and development, and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) who consume
enhancing their risk management capabilities. LPG. This initiative has not only empowered women but
also safeguarded their health.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 2 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
India is endowed with a wealth of unconventional gas (MMTPA) of CBM and has set a target of producing
resources too that have the potential to fuel its econom- 40 MMTPA by 2026-27. Shale gas is another impor-
ic growth while also reducing its dependence on import- tant unconventional resource in India. According to the
ed energy. The two main unconventional gas resources Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, India has shale
in India are Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and shale gas, gas reserves of 96 tcf. However, the development of
with tight gas also emerging as a potential resource. shale gas in India has been slow due to a lack of technical
Coal Bed Methane is natural gas that is trapped in coal expertise, regulatory challenges, and public perception.
seams. India has significant CBM resources, with esti- Nevertheless, the Government of India has announced
mates suggesting that the country has 63 trillion cubic a series of policy measures to boost shale gas explora-
feet (tcf) of CBM reserves. The CBM industry in India is tion and production, including the introduction of a new
still in its infancy, but it has grown steadily over the past exploration policy, the simplification of regulations, and
two decades, with companies such as ONGC, Reliance
the allocation of exploration blocks through auction.
Industries, Essar Oil, and GEECL leading the way. The
Tight gas, which is natural gas trapped in low-perme-
awarded 33 CBM blocks in India are estimated to have
ability rock formations, is another potential unconven-
a total prognosticated CBM resource of approximately
tional resource in India. The country has an estimated
62.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) or 1,767 billion cubic meters
40 tcf of tight gas reserves. However, the development
(BCM), out of which 9.9 tcf (280.34 BCM) has been
confirmed as Gas in Place (GIP). As of 2021, India of tight gas in India is also hampered by regulatory chal-
produced around 2.2 million metric tonnes per annum lenges, a lack of infrastructure, and technical barriers.

Dr B Veera Reddy
President, MGMI

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 3 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 From the desk of editor

INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE - PETROLEUM

INDUSTRY IN INDIA : CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

It is our pleasure to present the latest issue of the MGMI Transformation is also made in the PSUs leading the
News Journal of the Mining Geological and Metallurgi- Indian E&P companies viz. ONGC and Oil India Ltd
cal Institute of India, which focuses on the challenges (OIL). The transformation of these PSUs to Limited
and opportunities facing the petroleum industry in companies was a significant step in the evolution of
India. This issue is particularly important as the petro- India's oil and gas industry. The restructuring of the
leum industry plays a vital role in the Indian economy company was aimed at improving its efficiency, finan-
and its development. India is heavily dependent on oil cial performance, and competitiveness. This also led to
imports to meet its energy needs and faces a rising the creation of subsidiaries such as ONGC Videsh Lim-
energy demand in view of exponential growth in all ited (OVL), which was established in 1989 to explore
modes of transport. and produce oil and gas abroad. OVL has been instru-
mental in securing oil and gas assets in different parts
The petroleum industry has played a significant role
of the world and has contributed significantly to India's
in the country's development since the late 19th
energy security. The same is true for OIL also.
century when oil exploration and production began with
the discovery of oil at Digboi in Upper Assam. It contin- The petroleum industry is among the large industries
ued to grow with the discovery of new oil fields in various in the country, employing over 4 lakh of people across
parts of the country. In 1956, the Oil and Natural Gas its supply chain. The industry has also contributed
Commission (ONGC) was established as a state-owned significantly to the government's revenue through taxes
company to explore and produce oil and gas in India, and royalties. It is also closely linked to other industries
which led to the rapid expansion of the industry. The such as transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture.
introduction of the new licensing policy 'NELP', as a The availability of affordable petroleum products has
result of the liberalization policies implemented in the played a vital role in the growth of these industries.
1990s, further fueled the growth of the industry by allow- The petroleum industry has also played a critical role in
ing private players to enter. In 1993, the Government of promoting foreign investments in the country. Foreign
India decided to restructure the company to increase companies have been attracted to invest in the industry
efficiency and competitiveness in the global market. due to the vast potential for exploration and production
With the objective to make the Indian E&P market more activities. This has led to the transfer of technology and
attractive to foreign players, the E&P policy is further knowledge, boosting the country's technological capa-
simplified through introduction of “HELP” & OALP in bilities.
2016 by the Government of India.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 4 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
The country has developed a robust infrastructure kilometers of petroleum product pipelines. India has
for refining crude oil into various petroleum products. also developed a pipeline infrastructure for transport-
There are 23 oil refineries, with a combined capacity ing natural gas. The country has more than 16,000
of over 251 million metric tonnes per year (MMTPA) kilometers of natural gas pipelines, which connect
which is the fourth largest in the world. While India's various production sites, import terminals, and
major production of petroleum products is dominat- consumption centers. The pipeline network includes
ed by public sector companies, the country's largest cross-country pipelines, intra-state pipelines, and city
refineries are owned by private companies, most gas distribution pipelines. In recent years, the govern-
notably the Reliance-owned Jamnagar refinery which ment has launched several initiatives to encourage
is situated on the western coast of Gujarat and is the the construction of pipelines in remote regions to the
world's largest refinery. These refineries produce a national gas grid, which is expected to further increase
wide range of petroleum products, including gasoline, the availability of natural gas in the country. India has
diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, and liquefied petroleum also invested in developing cross-border pipelines,
gas (LPG). India also produces bitumen, naphtha, and such as the ones connecting India with Bangladesh and
other petroleum products, which are the raw materials for Myanmar. With the growing demand for oil and natural
various industrial applications. Many refineries have gas in the country, the pipeline infrastructure in India is
also adopted green initiatives such as the use of expected to continue to grow in the coming years.
renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.
Another key opportunity is the exploration of India’s
Notably, refineries operated at nearly full capacity, with a
unconventional gas reserves when the government
capacity utilization of almost 97% during the 2021-22
approved a policy to encourage their development.
fiscal year, and that the export of petroleum products
India has significant reserves of unconventional gases,
amounted to 62.71 MMT, valued at Rs. 3,31,615 crore.
and the country has been exploring their potential as
India is also one of the big consumers of natural gas an alternative source of energy. Three main types of
in the world, and the demand for this cleaner fuel unconventional gases in India are coal bed methane
continues to grow. To meet this demand, India has (CBM), shale gas, and tight gas. CBM is found in coal
developed a robust infrastructure for refining seams across several coal bearing areas in the coun-
compressed natural gas (CNG), piped natural gas try, including the Damodar Valley, and the Son Valley,
(PNG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The refining while shale gas is primarily found in the Cambay Basin,
process for CNG and PNG involves compressing and the Krishna-Godavari Basin, and the Cauvery Basin.
purifying natural gas, which is then transported through Tight gas is found in the Cambay Basin and the Assam
pipelines for use in homes, businesses, and vehicles. -Arakan Basin. The government has offered several
In India, CNG is primarily used as a fuel for transpor- incentives to attract investment in the sector, including
tation, while PNG is used for cooking and heating in tax credits and price premiums for gas produced from
households and commercial establishments. LNG, on unconventional sources.
the other hand, is natural gas that has been cooled to
Currently, several E&P companies, including GEECL,
a liquid state for ease of transportation and storage.
EOGEPL, Reliance, ONGC, and others, are producing
India has invested heavily in the development of LNG
a significant amount of natural gas from an estimated
infrastructure, including the construction of LNG termi-
resource of around 4.6 TCM, with many fields still in
nals and pipelines. These terminals are used to receive
the development phase. India is at the forefront of
and store imported LNG, which is then regasified and
technological advancements in gas hydrate and has
transported through pipelines for use in various sectors.
been predicted to have a massive volume of methane
An extensive network of pipelines for transporting oil gas, roughly 1900 trillion meter cube, stored in gas
and natural gas across different parts of the country hydrates within its vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
has also been developed. These pipelines operated by This volume of gas is more than 1500 times India's
both public and private sector companies are critical current natural gas reserve. Additionally, India is
infrastructure for the oil and gas industry, ensuring actively exploring its sedimentary basins for shale oil/
the efficient and cost-effective transportation of petro- gas recovery.
leum products. The oil pipeline infrastructure in India is
India's petroleum industry has been facing a multitude
primarily focused on transporting crude oil from ports
of challenges over the past few years, including the
to refineries, as well as transporting petroleum prod-
declining production of crude oil, environmental
ucts from refineries to distribution centers across the
concerns, volatile prices of petroleum products and
country. The pipeline network comprises more than
regulatory hurdles. The petroleum industry is one of
14,000 kilometers of crude oil pipelines and over 7,500
the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 5 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
sions worldwide, and India is no exception. Oil and gas fuels with traditional petroleum products to reduce their
extraction, processing and distribution has a much carbon footprint.
higher methane emission intensity than coal due to
Energy efficiency : Improving energy efficiency in the
the nature of the reservoirs and the supply chain. The
petroleum industry can reduce energy consumption and
combustion of petroleum products such as petrol,
lower GHG emissions. This can be achieved through
diesel, jet fuel, and gas releases carbon dioxide (CO2)
the use of energy-efficient technologies, process
and other GHGs into the atmosphere, contributing to
optimization, and employee training.
climate change. However, the government and the
industry have responded to these challenges by Circular economy : The petroleum industry can adopt
embracing new technologies, exploring unconventional circular economy principles, such as recycling and
sources of oil and gas, and investing in infrastructure reuse, to reduce waste and resource consumption.
to improve production and distribution. The petroleum
Green Hydrogen : Green hydrogen is produced by
industry has taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint
using renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind
and mitigate its impact on the environment. These steps
power, to electrolyze water and separate hydrogen
include improving energy efficiency, adopting cleaner
from oxygen. The process emits greenhouse gases
technologies, and reducing flaring and venting of gas-
and is considered a zero-emission fuel if the grid is
es. Prior to 2007, flaring reduction was the key target.
decarbonized.
However, ONGC joined the EPA STAR program aimed at
reducing methane emissions in August 2007. Use of Blue Hydrogen : Blue hydrogen, on the other hand,
leak detection and repair systems has reduced emis- is produced from natural gas, but with carbon capture
sions and saved products of at least $3.4 million. The and storage (CCS) technology to capture and store the
industry has also been exploring the use of carbon emitted/produced CO2. The government has launched
capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technolo- a pilot project for blue hydrogen production in Gujarat,
gies to capture and store CO2 emissions. CCUS is a which will use CCS technology to capture emitted CO2
process that captures CO2 emissions from industrial and store them in geologic formations.
processes, compresses and transports the CO2 to The petroleum industry in India is taking steps towards
storage locations, and stores it in geologic formations achieving net-zero emissions. The government has
deep underground. India has significant reserves of launched several initiatives to promote carbon manage-
depleted oil and gas fields, saline aquifers, and other ment in the industry, such as the National Clean Energy
geological formations that could be used for CCUS Fund and the Sustainable Development Goals. The
storage. In addition to reducing its carbon footprint, the industry is also investing in cleaner technologies,
petroleum industry is also focused on improving the such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and
resilience of its infrastructure to the impacts of climate renewable energy. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has
change. This includes adapting its facilities to withstand announced plans to achieve net-zero emissions by
extreme weather events and reducing water usage in its 2050, by investing in renewable energy and electric
operations. mobility, among other measures.
In addition to CCUS, there are other opportunities for The articles included in this issue explore a wide range
the petroleum industry in India to reduce its carbon of topics, from the past, present and future of the
footprint and contribute to sustainable development. Indian petroleum industry and the challenges faced by the
These include : sector, including the impact of fluctuating oil prices,
Renewable energy : The Indian government has set a environmental concerns, and technological advance-
target to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity ments. A technical paper authored by the former
by 2022, which presents opportunities for the petroleum Director of Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad
industry to invest in solar, wind, and other renewable delves into the various challenges faced and opportuni-
energy technologies. ONGC is investing $6.2 billion in ties available to the industry. The subject of CCUS for
renewable energy and has formed a joint venture for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has also been addressed
renewable energy projects. through a technical paper authored by academicians
from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of
Bio fuels : The Indian government has launched a
Mines) Dhanbad and through an interview given by an
program to promote the production of bio fuels, which
expert from the E&P Industry. Experts from the Industry
are made from renewable sources such as sugarcane,
have also contributed to the downstream business and
corn, and other crops. The petroleum industry can
unconventional resources.
invest in bio fuels production facilities and blend bio

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 6 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
The current issue covers a diverse range of topics reviewers who have provided their valuable
related to the Indian petroleum industry, including its feedback. we would also like to thank our readers for their
history, current state, and future outlook. The chal- continued support and encourage them to engage with
lenges faced by the sector, such as volatile oil prices, us by sharing their views and opinions on the issues
environmental concerns, and advancements in presented in this journal.
technology, are thoroughly explored through an
article authored by Dhanbad's former Director of Central Keka Ojha
Mining Research Institute, which discusses the various Guest Editor of the Special Issue
challenges and opportunities available to the indus-
try. Another article, written by academicians from the Professor and Head
Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Department of Petroleum Engineering
Dhanbad, delves into the subject of CCUS for enhanced IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
oil recovery (EOR). Additionally, an expert from ONGC
provides insights on the topics of carbon management
Ajay K. Singh
and sustainable development through an interview.
A few Industry experts have also contributed their Honorary Editor, MGMI
knowledge to the topics of downstream business and Former Scientist and Head
unconventional resources. Methane Emission and Degasification
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the CSIR-CIMFR, Dhanbad
authors who have contributed to this issue and to the

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 7 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 HEADQUARTERS' ACTIVITIES

MINUTES OF THE 895TH MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

(Held through hybrid mode in Physical and Virtual 895.1.0 To confirm the Minutes of the 894th meet-
Platform through Zoom) ing of the Council held in Hybrid platform
Date & Time : Saturday, 22nd October, 2022 at at Hotel Hyatt Regency, Kolkata on 2nd
11:30 AM September, 2022 at 07:00 p.m.

The 895th Council Meeting (1st Meeting of the 117th The Minutes were circulated to all the Coun-
Session) was held at MGMI Building, GN-38/4, cil Members earlier. Since no comments
Sector-V, Salt Lake, Kolkata- 700 091 on Saturday, were received, the Council resolved that :
22nd October 2022 at 11.30 a.m. (duly approved in Resolution : The minutes of the 894th
the 896th Council Meeting held on 03rd December Meeting of the Council held on 2nd Sep-
2022). tember, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. on physical and
PRESENT : Dr B Veera Reddy, President in the virtual platforms, is confirmed.
Chair. The meeting was attended by Prof Banerjee
895.1.1 To consider matters arising out of the
Sakti Pada, Prof Dhar B B (Present Virtually), S/
Minutes
Shri Jha N C , Ritolia R P , Saha R K, Jha Anil
Kumar (Present Virtually), Goenka J P, Lochan Rajiw Discussion on Scopus Indexing – The
(Present Virtually), Prasanta Roy, Singh Chan- Honorary Editor drew attention of the
dra Shekhar, Chakraborti Bhaskar, Dr Singh Ajay Council towards Scopus indexing of Trans-
Kumar (Present Virtually), Arora V K, Dr Barnwal J P actions. The Council had agreed to the
(Present Virtually), Prof (Dr) Ashis Bhattacharjee proposal of Scopus indexing in its 893rd
(Present Virtually), Dr Sinha Amalendu, Prof Dey N meeting. It was informed that the Editorial
C, Prof Sarkar Bhabesh Chandra, Dr Mandal Prabhat Board has been extended by including three
Kumar, Pandey Awadh Kishore, Nag T K, Dattatreyu- faculty members from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad,
lu J V and Talapatra Ranajit. IIT Kharagpur and IIT (BHU). Peer review
process has been initiated and for conve-
Item No. 0
nience of the reviewers, a review report form
0.1 The meeting was called to order by the has been created. The website developer
New President. The President welcomed has been contacted for further developing
the Past Presidents, Members present the journal management system button for
physically and virtually. He thanked the necessary customisation under the
Council for giving him the chance to guidance of the Honorary Editor. Honorary
contribute to the Institute in its highest Secretary assured to facilitate the matter
capacity and committed his whole heart- with whatever help needed from his end.
ed support for the institute’s activities.
Thereafter, President requested the Discussion on 9th AMC & IME – It was
Honorary Secretary to take up the Agenda informed that M/S TAFCON has made the
for deliberations. payment of the final instalment and only the
excess payment as per T&C of Rs 9.5 Lakhs
0.2 Leave of absence was granted to those remain as dues. The total considered take-
who could not attend the meeting. away from 9th AMC and IME was very good
0.3 Honorary Secretary welcomed the new and MGMI is now in better financial health.
President, Dr B Veera Reddy, Director The council again thanked the then Presi-
(Technical), CIL and the newly elected dent and his team for the grand show in the
Council members and requested the Presi- AMC.
dent to formally start the meeting
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 8 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Re-appointment of Auditor & Remunera- 895.4.0 To review and consider the proposed
tion – M/s. Jha & Jha, Chartered Accoun- Budget for the year 2022-23
tants Company have been reappointed as
Honorary Secretary read out the details of
Auditors of MGMI for the year 2022-23 with
the proposed budget for the year 2022-23.
increased remuneration of Rs 15,000/- per
The queries on the budget were clarified and
annum was confirmed in the 116th AGM.
the budget was passed by the Council.
Dr B Veera Reddy, Director (Technical),
895.5.0 To elect office bearers viz Vice - Presi-
CIL, whose name was proposed by the last
dents, Honorary Jt. Secretary, Honorary
Council that met on 2nd September 2022,
Treasurer and Honorary Editor amongst
was elected President in the last Annual
Council Members of the Institute for the
General Meeting held on 25th September,
year 2022-23
2022.
The Council unanimously elected the
895.2.0 To discuss about the 10th Asian Mining
office bearers amongst the Council
Congress and Exhibition
Members for the year 2022-23. The names
The Honorary Secretary informed the of the Vice - Presidents, Honorary Jt. Sec-
Council that the 10th AMC & IME will be held retary, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary
between 6th to 9th November, 2023 (AMC Editor are as follows :
6 - 8th & IME 6 - 9th either in ITC Sonar/ITC
Vice-Presidents
Royal beside Milan Mela Prangan, Kolkata
subject to availability. It was informed that Shri Bhola Singh, CMD, Northern
Milan Mela has opened after renovation and Coalfields Ltd
is a wonderful venue, centrally located. The Shri J P Goenka, Managing Partner,
dates have been booked in Milan Mela for Nanda Millar Co.
the 10th IME. Shri J.V. Dattatreyulu, Ex-Director, SCCL
Shri Thomas Cherian, MD, Essel Mining
895.3.0 To discuss about the half-day Seminar
and Holland Memorial Lecture Honorary Jt. Secretary
Shri Chandra Shekhar Singh
The Honorary Secretary informed the
Council that the Half day Seminar and Honorary Treasurer
Holland Memorial Lecture tentatively to be Dr Prabhat Kumar Mandal
held on 9th/10th December, 2022. Council Honorary Editor
members were requested to propose a few Dr Ajay Kumar Singh
names of renowned persons, not necessar-
895.6.0 To consider applications for membership
ily from earth Sciences for consideration.
and the membership position of the insti-
The members committed that few names
tute
will be proposed from their end. After some
discussions about certain names, it was a. The Honorary Secretary informed that 03
decided that the name of the Speaker for (three) Life Membership applications and
Holland Memorial Lecture will be decided 01 (One) Student Associate have been
later. received. The applications were approved
by the Council.
b. Membership position as on date
(22.10.2022) is 2045.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 9 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Membership Position
(As on 22.10.2022)

02.09.2022 Add Trans Loss 22.10.2022

Member 42 - - - 42
Life Member 1931 03 - 00 1934
Associate 18 - - - 18
Student Associate 05 01 - - 06
Life Subscriber 27 - - - 27
Subscriber 01 - - - 01
Life Donor 01 - - - 01
Donor
01 - - - 01
Patron 05 - - - 05
Corporate 08 - - - 08
Life Corporate
02 - - - 02
2041 04 - - 2045

895.7.0 Any other matter with the permission of The arrangement for updating the con-
the Chair tact details of members in the MGMI data-
base has been made and the process was
The President welcomed all the new
explained by Honorary Secretary. Shri
Council Members and requested them to
Peeyush Kumar expressed his opinion that
introduce themselves, and Shri Awadh
only one email address and one operational
Kishore Pandey, Shri J V Dattatreyu-
phone number should be there in the data-
lu, Dr Prabhat Kumar Mandal and Shri
base. He said that the MGMI office staff can
Peeyush Kumar introduced themselves.
take up the role in a pro-active way. Honor-
Sri Awadh Kr Pandey informed the Council ary Secretary appreciated his initiative and
that MGMI Odisha Chapter is organising a suggested that Sri Peeyush take up the
seminar at Sambalpur on 26th November supervision of correction of the database
and invited all Council Members to the event. with all help from the office.
The Council members praised the initiative
Sri Prasanta Roy, Honorary Ex-Secretary,
and wished the seminar a great success.
expressed his opinion that there should also
The outstation members of the Council be a separate award for Geo-sciences. How-
who could not attend physically but joined ever, the Council reminded that the awards
through video conferencing requested that were squeezed and finalised by a commit-
the infrastructure in the Board room may be tee and approved by the Council and hence
developed to hold video conferences prop- at this stage the number of awards should
erly so that the bandwidth of internet as remain the same.
well as audio is better. Honorary Secretary
As there was nothing more to discuss, the
assured that it will be done before the next
meeting was called to an end by the Presi-
Council Meeting.
dent thanking all the Council members for
attending physically and through Zoom.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 10 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 MINUTES OF THE 896TH MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

(Held through Hybrid mode in Physical and Virtual also spoke to Directors of subsidiaries for active
Platform through Zoom) follow up.
Date & Time : Saturday, 3rd December, 2022 at Regarding Branch Activities, he informed about
1:00 P.M. a meeting in Hyderabad by Hyderabad Branch
on 9th December 2022 and a successful
The 896th Council Meeting (2nd Meeting of the
Conference organized by the MGMI Odisha
117th Session) was held at MGMI Building, GN-38/4,
Branch in MCL, Sambalpur. He also informed
Sector-V, Salt Lake, Kolkata- 700 091 on Saturday,
the Council that CMD, CCL has promised that the
3rd December, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. (duly approved in
MGMI President’s Cup Golf Tournament will be
the 897th Council Meeting held on 11th March 2023).
organised at Ranchi in January 2023.
PRESENT : Dr B Veera Reddy (Virtual), President
With these words he requested Shri Ranajit
in the Chair. The meeting was attended by Prof
Talapatra, Honorary Secretary to start the agenda.
Banerjee Sakti Pada, S/Jha N C, Ritolia R P, Saha
R K, Dr Nanda N K (Virtual), Goenka J P, Thomas 0.2 Honorary Secretary informed the president and
Cherian (Virtual), Lochan Rajiw (Present Virtual), others in the Council that the new Vice President
Roy Prasanta, Singh Chandra Shekhar, Dr Mandal Sri Thomas Cherian has joined online. President
Prabhat Kumar (Virtual), Dr Singh Ajay Kumar welcomed him and Sri Cherian promised that he
will try to be physically present in the next Council
(On phone), Arora V K, Prof Sarkar Bhabesh
Meeting.
Chandra, P R Mandal, Pandey Awadh Kishore
(Virtual), T K Nag (Virtual), Peeyush Kumar 0.3 Leave of absence was granted to those who
(Virtual), J V Dattatreyulu (Virtual), G P Karmakar could not attend the meeting.
(Virtual), Dr Barnwal J P (Virtual), Dr Sen Kalyan 0.4 As the President was scheduled to go into
(Virtual), Dr Ajoy Moitra (Virtual) and Talapatra Ranajit. another important meeting in 10 minutes, Secre-
tary took President’s permission to first discuss
ITEM No. 0 Opening of the Meeting
the more important agenda.
President, MGMI attended virtually due to official
896.1.0 To confirm the Minutes of the 895th
exigencies.
meeting of the Council held in Hybrid
0.1 The President welcomed the Past Presidents, platform at MGMI Hq, Kolkata on 22nd
Past Secretaries, Present Secretary, Chapter October, 2022.
Chair Persons and existing Council Members The 895th Council Meeting minutes were
who were present physically as well as virtually circulated to all the Council Members. As
in the meeting. no comment was received, the Council
resolved that :
He informed the Council that a new online
meeting and conferencing system has been Resolution : The Minutes of the 895th
installed at the MGMI Hq Board room to facili- (1st meeting of the 117th Session)
tate the members who attend virtually due to Meeting of the Council held on 22nd
various reasons. October, 2022 at 11.30 AM on Hybrid
platform, be confirmed.
He also mentioned that the membership
896.1.1 To consider matters arising out of the
requests since last Council Meeting has been in
Minutes.
double figures, and also informed that there is a
potential to increase membership to about 4,000 The Council considered the Action Taken
and that he has already written to the CMDs Report in respect of the Minutes of 895th
of all CIL subsidiaries and Directors of some Council Meeting held on 22nd October,
reputed Institutes with Mining Departments and 2022 on virtual platform and concurred.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 11 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
896.2.0 To discuss about progress in Scopus Centre and the halls have been blocked for
Index accreditation of MGMI Journals. the period 6th to 8th November 2023.
The Honorary Editor was travelling and The names of the Committees were
hence could not be connected through VC proposed as below :
but he spoke through telephone which was
Conference Organising Committee :
mostly audible to members. He informed
the Council that the existing Journal Upload Chairman – Shri O P Singh, CMD, MCL
Application is being developed as the first Co-Chairman – Shri Sundara Ramam,
step towards the accreditation. This was VP, Raw Materials, Tata Steel
being done through the website developer
and he mentioned that he was connected Convener – Shri Prasanta Roy, CM/
with them by Honorary Secretary and that HOD, Geology, CIL
the work is in progress. On query from Sri Technical Committee :
Prasanta Roy on the time line, he said that
Chairman – Dr Amalendu Sinha,
once the Journal Upload system in the
Former Director, CIMFR,
website is ready by December, he can
Dhanbad.
apply for accreditation in January 2023.
Exhibition Committee :
Honorary Editor also raised the proposal by
Dr N K Nanda, Past President to change Chairman – Shri Bhola Singh, CMD,
the name of the News Journal to Jour- NCL
nal, wherein Honorary Secretary placed Co-Chairman – Shri J P Goenka,
the query to the council. Some agreed to Managing Partner, Nanda
the proposal but then Prof S P Banerjee, Millar & Company
Ex-President, summarized the views of
many others who felt that Journal and News Convener – Shri Chandra Sekhar
are different things and so to avoid confu- Singh, DGM/TS to DT, CIL.
sion, it may be kept same, till a discussion Chairman Buyer Seller Meet - Shri V
is held with Prof Khanindra Pathak, ex K Arora, Mentor, Karam Chand Thapar
editor, who had suggested the name Group of Industries
change after some deliberations in the first
The Council unanimously agreed to the
place, during his tenure as Editor. Sri N C
proposal and the Committee heads
Jha suggested that the decision on this be
were thus frozen. It was decided that the
kept pending till the next Council meeting,
other members of the organizing commit-
which was agreed. tee would be chosen by December and
896.3.0 To discuss about the 10th Asian Mining informed for consent and activities.
Congress and Exhibition. Sri Prasanta Roy proposed that like earlier
Honorary Secretary informed the AMCs, a National Advisory Committee may
Council that the dates of 6th to 9th be formed with leaders of the industry, and
November 2023 (6th to 8th for 10th AMC) & the proposal was accepted.
IME have been fixed and the venue of IME It was hoped by the Council members that
has been changed to Eco Park from the the almost 11 months lead time should
Milan Mela Ground due to the unsuitability allow for better preparation for organizing
of the surface to hold and support heavy the Congress.
earthmoving machinery that are usually
At this point the President excused himself
exhibited at the entrance of IME every year.
as he was scheduled for an official meeting
The conference venue too has accordingly
which was about to start.
been changed to Taj Taal Kutir Convention

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 12 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
896.4.0 To discuss about President’s Cup Golf 896.6.0 To discuss the opening of new account
Tournament, to be held in Ranchi. in Bank of India for better financial
management of funds.
As it was decided earlier by previous Presi-
Secretary put up a proposal of opening a
dent Shri P M Prasad, CMD, CCL that he
new current account in Bank of India, as it
would help in organizing the tournament at
was giving higher rate of interest at 7.25%,
Ranchi, the venue of Ranchi was finalised.
compared to SBI with 6.75% for FDs. Shri
As it was informed by Mr Prasad that the Prasanta Roy explained that, for opening
dates in December were not available due a new account, the approval and resolu-
to an ensuing Golf event there, some date tion of the Council needs to be taken.
in January needed to be proposed. Shri The matter was deliberated and it was
Prasanta Roy informed that 21st or 22nd suggested that other reputed banks, both
January, Saturday or Sunday has been Public sector and reputed Private banks
proposed and Shri Talapatra assured that like HDFC, Axis, ICICI, etc may be checked
he will try to speak to President, Dr Veera out for the highest rate and some part may
Reddy & Mr P M Prasad to finalise the date. be deposited as FDs there, but only if the
difference is more than 0.5 %. It suggested
896.5.0 To discuss about Foundation Day that a resolution may be taken for opening
Lecture. of a New Account in a suitable bank if there
is a difference of more than 0.5%. The pro-
Initially it was being planned on 15th
posal was accepted with the condition that
January, Sunday as 16th January, the
other banks may be checked out and the
Foundation day in 2023 is a Monday, but
best decision may be taken by Secretary,
now as it has come to light that MGMI Jt Secretary & Treasurer.
Kolkata Chapter is arranging its Annual
896.7.0 To consider applications for member-
Get-together on 15th January and has
ship and the membership position of the
already booked the venue, the date
Institute.
was proposed to either 14th January
Saturday afternoon at Kolkata or 21st There were 11 new applications since the
last Council, which was considered good
January evening at Ranchi if President’
by the members. It was informed that Sri
Golf Cup Tournament happens on 22nd
Sundara Ramam, Vice - President, Raw
January 2023.
Material, Tata Steel has applied to become
There was a suggestion from Shri R P a life member. It was suggested that only
Ritolia, Past President, that Secretary, those names with any issue in acceptance
MoEF & CC may be contacted for Holland may be read out. Sri Talapatra pointed
Memorial Lecture to be held sometime out that one candidate, Sri Chetan Chide,
Assistant Manager, MCL was - a. An Indus-
later. There were many proposals for
trial Engg. Graduate and b. Had only 4 years
Foundation Day Lecturer and finally it
and 8 months of experience. The matter
was suggested that a suitable person like
was discussed and the Council decided that
Railway Board Chairman, NTPC he should be considered, since he was as-
or CSIR heads can also be tried sociated with the Mining Industry, but pres-
out. It was also suggested that ently as an Associate Member, requiring 3
Holland Memorial Lecture can be held in years of experience, and upgraded to life
Delhi. Delhi chapter members like Shri member 4 months later when the require-
Peeyush Kumar was requested to take ment of 5 years of experience as eligibility
up the organization of Holland Memorial for Life Membership will be fulfilled. It was
Lecture in Delhi at a suitable time after also suggested that he be informed of this
March 2023. immediately and the Council informed after
he is inducted as Life Member.
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 13 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Membership Position
(As on 03.12.2022)

22.10.2022 Add Trans Loss 03.12.2022

Member 42 - - - 42
Life Member 1934 12 - 00 1946
Associate 18 - - - 18
Student Associate 06 - - - 06
Life Subscriber 27 - - - 27
Subscriber 01 - - - 01
Life Donor 01 - - - 01
Donor 01 - - - 01
Patron 05 - - - 05
Corporate 08 - - - 08
Life Corporate 02 - - - 02
2045 12 2057

896.8.0 Any other matter with the permission of Nanda, Former President and Ex Director,
the Chair. NMDC for taking the initiative. Dr Nanda
thanked Mr Dattatreyelu for taking inter-
MGMI Chapter Activities :
est in its revival. Honorary Secretary also
Secretary apprised the Council of the mentioned that Delhi Chapter is active and
activities of the MGMI Odisha and Hyder- requested Shri Peeyush Kumar to increase
abad Chapters. He informed that MGMI its activities. Shri Prasanta Roy requested,
Odisha Chapter had organized a Seminar Dr Prabhat Kr Mandal to take special care in
cum Exhibition on Challenges & Strategies improving the activities of Dhanbad Chapter.
in Coal Mining & Transformation to Industry
Shri Peeyush Kumar suggested that Shri
4.0 on 26th November at MCL Headquar-
Cherian, Vice President may be requested
ters. He mentioned that the Seminar had
to have some event in Mumbai to revive that
19 papers chosen from 48 received. There
chapter as there are several Geology pro-
were around 250 delegates from about 80
fessionals in that region from ONGC and
companies. About 15 company stalls were
other organisations. Shri Cherian prom-
put up in the exhibition which was held along
ised to discuss with Secretary and find out
with the seminar. Sri Awadh Pandey, Coun-
what is to be done and will be very happy to
cil Member and GM, Mining, MCL and Shri
contribute.
O P Singh, CMD, MCL & Chairman, Odisha
Chapter were congratulated for organizing Shri Peeyush Kumar suggested that a list of
a very successful Conference in Sambal- the Corporate members may be uploaded
pur and roping in several new memberships in the Website and Secretary assured that it
from that region. will be done along with the uploading of the
Composite online Application for Life mem-
It was also informed by Vice President, Shri
bership.
Dattatreyelu that Hyderabad Chapter plans
to revive its activities and the internal AGM The meeting ended at 2.00 PM with Vote of
to revive and elect the new office bearers of Thanks to the Chair and others present both
Hyderabad Chapter, is planned to be held physically and virtually by Hony. Secretary
on 9th December. He commended Dr N K Shri Ranajit Talapatra.
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 14 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 18th FOUNDATION DAY LECTURE

Foundation Day Lectures, delivered by eminent Administrative Service Officer of Madhya Pradesh
personalities, are one of the important events of The Cadre 1991 batch is the Chairman, Coal India
Mining, Geological & Metallurgical Institute of India Limited (CIL), the world’s largest coal producing com-
(MGMI), generally held annually. The 18th one was pany. Prior to this he was Principal Secretary, Depart-
arranged on 16th January 2023 evening at 18.30 ment of Technical Education, Skill Development &
hours at Crystal, Taj City Centre New Town, Kolkata. Employment and Department of Labour, Government
It was delivered by Shri Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, of Madhya Pradesh. A Graduate (B.Tech) in Civil Engi-
Coal India Limited. Due to pressing commitments, neering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mum-
Shri Agrawal could not come to Kolkata and he deliv- bai (1986), Shri. Agrawal completed his Post-Gradu-
ered the address live virtually. ation in Design Engineering (M.Tech) from IIT, Delhi
(1988). On assuming the charge of the company that
The event commenced with Shri Ranajit Talapatra,
produces over 83% of the country’s entire coal out-
Hony Secretary, MGMI thanking the guests and
put, Shri Agrawal underlined his priority as “to make
members present for coming on the occasion and
Coal India a competitive, economically viable business
inviting Dr. B Veera Reddy, President, MGMI, Shri
entity, in the changing scenario, with greater empha-
J P Goenka, Vice President, MGMI, Shri C S Singh,
sis on operational efficiency and lowering the cost of
Honorary Joint Secretary, MGMI on the dias. They
production. Coal imports to be curtailed to the extent
were felicitated with flower bouquets. Then he
possible with higher coal output”.
requested them to speak a few words.
He then invited Shri Agrawal to deliver the lecture which
As many as 84 members including Guests attended
was presented live virtually. Shri Agrawal thanked
the lecture physically besides other online viewers.
MGMI for giving the privilege to deliver the lecture. He
Shri Goenka welcomed the members and presented congratulated the members on the foundation day. He
a brief history of MGMI, established on 16th January, delivered an extempore talk on the energy scenario with
1906 vis-à-vis the Foundation Day Lectures which special reference to coal. According to him the energy
started on 16th January 1993. crisis in our country was not only due to the coal crisis,
Dr B. Veera Reddy thanked Shri Agrawal for agreeing but also infrastructure crisis. Was it somebody’s fault
to deliver the lecture in spite of his busy schedule. He that the crisis suddenly came? People will try to find
discussed the objective of MGMI. With around 3000 someone’s fault. They will say the ministries of coal,
members representing professionals in different fields railways, electricity should have made proper planning.
of mineral based industries; technocrat planners and Where was the fault. Possibly, the planning of demands
policy makers both in the private and public sectors at of energy and coal were never accurate. As example,
State/Central levels, the Institute is now recognised he cited the case of BHEL, where the Government in-
to be one of the preferred professional societies for vested expecting a high demand of energy. But later
all appropriately qualified personnel associated with the anticipated demand did not come and BHEL faced
the study and practices of the minerals and energy difficulty. During last 5-7 years it was thought that per-
industries in India. He mentioned that MGMI shares haps demand of coal will not be much and balance en-
its knowledge through Seminars, Workshops, Asian ergy demand may be fulfilled by renewables like solar
Mining Congress and International Mining exhibitions. etc, and thus not much investment may be made in coal
It also gives awards to meritorious Personnel and and transport sectors. When the demands arose, we
Students. did not have the capacity to handle the crisis. It was
told that production of 565 m.t. of coal by CIL would be
The Honorary Secretary introduced Shri Promod
sufficient in 2022-23, but it was insufficient even after
Agrawal highlighting his academic and profession-
production of 585 m.t. This year CIL would supply 590
al achievements. Shri Pramod Agrawal, an Indian

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 15 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
m.t. of coal, but that would also be less than needed, Shri Agrawal then discussed the future of coal indus-
and coal would be imported. According to him, forecast- try and Coal India Limited. He pointed out that even
ing the demands, especially in the energy sector, is very during the recent global energy crisis, India did not feel
difficult. There are always optimistic and pessimistic the punch, its inflation was under control, growth rate
people having opposite views and when forecast of continued and India had been overall self-sufficient in
one group succeeds, they claim, they were right. Some energy sector. It has been possible as coal production
forecasts are being made regarding demand of energy in India has increased considerably during the last two
vis-a-vis coal in the next 4-5 years. Many are telling years. The demand of energy in our country is going
renewable sources like solar will come in the scene and to increase due to population growth, accessibility and
demand of coal will gradually decrease such that after economic growth. Can renewable energy meet this de-
10 years it would be at the minimum. It can definitely be mand? The plan to establish renewable energy by 2022
said the demand of energy in the country will increase. was 170 gegawatt, but actually 120 gegawatt could be
It will increase 1½ times by 2030 and two times by 2040. established. The target by 2030 is 500 gegawatt. But
In this situation, it is a big question whether renewables by that time energy demand will also increase and coal
can meet our full demand. We should give a thought demand will also be more. Today coal caters 70% of
in this line. We should explore all possible sources of energy demand. By 2030 it is anticipated to decrease to
energy and plan for meeting the enhanced demands. 54%. But whether it will so is a question. Even if we are
Today there is more emphasis on renewables, neglect- able to produce targeted renewable energy, storage of
ing the non-renewables to some extent. A look at the energy is a problem. Till now our storage technology is
world energy scenario tells that coal is mostly used not very sound. In 2017-18 when solar energy system
in Asian and Pacific countries. In other countries, oil was expanding lithium ion battery was used as stor-
and gas are mostly used. Maximum use of coal are in age system. But then lithium was not available in our
China, India, Indonesia. In India there is no other non- country and it became costlier. Now-a-days hydrogen
renewable source other than coal. The other source as an energy source is being talked about. But there are
to replace coal may be solar, but its future to meet many challenges. He hopes in future a robust storage
the huge demand is not yet ascertained. Coal is the system will be developed and then the demand of
cheapest source of energy in our country. It is not pos- renewables will increase and demand of coal will
sible to neglect coal as a source of energy at present. decrease. It is expected that by 25-30 years
India’s per capita energy consumption is around 1200 demand of coal may decrease to a minimum, but at the
units. World’s average is around 3000 units, consump- present coal is the cheapest source of energy in
tion in China is around 6000 units, USA 13000 units. In India. So, Coal India Limited should increase
this situation it can be predicted that energy demand production. There should be investment in coal produc-
in our country will increase considerably and as such, tion, transportation like railway wagons. Today coal is
coal will play a major role at least for some more time. imported at a cost of 6-7 times. Coal India should be
But we have to take care about carbon emission. Cur- prepared to cater to all needs of coal in the country.
rently there is a talk of ‘just transition’. What is it? Is it
Shri Agrawal profusely thanked MGMI for giving him the
transition from non-renewable to renewable? Accord-
opportunity to deliver this lecture and hoped he would
ing to Shri Agrawal, just transition should aim at reduc-
get chance to interact with MGMI in future.
ing the difference in per capita energy consumption in
different countries so that everybody gets energy The event concluded with the vote of thanks by the
required for proper living. After the energy crisis due to Joint Honorary Secretary and then Honorary Secretary
Ukraine war, some countries, like Germany, are think- invited all Members and Guests to join the Cocktails
ing of coal mining. and Dinner.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 16 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 SNAPSHOTS OF THE 18th FOUNDATION DAY LECTURE

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 17 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 18 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 NEWS ABOUT MEMBERS

Dr. Girendra Mohan Prasad (6511 - LM), MMGI is Shri Narendra Prasad (10130 - LM) MMGI is now at Flat
now at Flat No. 113, Bhubaneswari Residency, Near No 104, Monarh Apartments 535/1-4, New Hyderabad
Pandit Clinic, Middle School Road, Bartand, Dhanbad (Lucknow), PO New Hyderabad, Lucknow – 226007,
- 826 001, Jharkhand (India), Mobile No.: 9430149978, Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
Dr. Ravinder Kumar Jain (10608 - LM), Consul-
Prof. Dr Gurdeep Singh (6083 - LM) MMGI is now Ad- tant (Geology), CRIRSCO Certified, Flat No. 2001,
visor Environment, Gujrat Mineral Development Corpn. Tower – J, Adani Oyster Grande, Sector- 102, Guru-
(GMDC), Khanij Bhavan, 132 Ft. Ring Road, near Guja- gram 122505, Haryana, (M) 9560836039,
rat University Ground, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad -380052, Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
Shri Om Prakash Jha (10476 - LM) MMGI is now at
Qr. No. KD-15, Bina Colony, Sonebhadra (UP) 231220,
Email : [email protected]

Theme of the Next Issue of

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 49, No.1

"Safety and Labour

Considerations in the
Mining Industry"

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 19 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 NEW MEMBERS

(As approved in Council Meeting on 3.12.2022)

As Life Member

10895 - LM, Shri Sundara Raman Dwaraka 10901 - LM, Shri Shibshankar Bhoi, +2 HSE, B.Tech
Bhimadipati, B. Sc. Engineering (Mining), Vice Presi- (BPUT), M.Tech, IIT Kgp, Manager (Mining), MCL Qr.
dent, Raw Materials No. 1, Beldih Lake, Northern No. C-4, Jagruti Vihar, MCL, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha
Town, Bistupur, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand 831 001, 768020, (O) 943849367; (M) 9438493697, 8917690640;
Ph: 0657-2423626; (M) 8335006677; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10902 - LM, Shri Nawal Kishor Parashar, Degree
10896 - LM, Shri Deepak Kumar Behera, M. Tech (equivalent, Min. Engg), MBA (Marketing), Diplo-
(Mining), Dy Manager (Mining), Coal India Limited, ma (Mining), Sr Manager, MCL, D-37, MCL Colony,
At Qr No C/16, 4th Block, Dav Colony, Infront of Dav Jagruti Vihar, MCL, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha 768020,
Public School, Jagannath Area, Talcher, PO Dera Col- (M) 9438494978, 9425781163;
liery, Dist. Angul – 759103, Odisha, (M) 8763965366; Email : [email protected],
Email : [email protected], [email protected]
[email protected]
10903 - LM, Shri Arvind Kumar Mishra, M.Tech
10897 - LM, Shri Akshaya Kumar Dash, BE (Mining) (Mining Emgg.), Manager (Mining), CIL, Qtr No. C - 89,
FCC, Chief Manager (Mining), Mahanadi Coalfields Block - 7, Jagruti Vihar, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. HQ,
Ltd. D/7, N.S Nagar, Bharatpur Colony, Talcher, Dist. Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha 768020, (M) 9438877558;
Angul, Odisha-759148, (M) 9438878214; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10904 - LM, Shri Sumanta Kumar Prusti, Diplo-
10898 - LM, Shri Bipin Bihari Sahoo, Diploma (Min- ma in Mining Engg., Chief Manager (Mining), MCL
ing Engg), FCC, Chief Manager (Mining), Mahanadi Qrts. No D1, Adars Nagar, Budhijam, Brajarajnagar,
Coalfields Ltd., C/o 7, N S Nagar, Bharatpur Colony, Jharsuguda, Odisha 768233, (M) 9438494546;
Talcher, Dist. Angul, Odisha - 759148, (M) 9438878861; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10905 - LM, Dr Patitapaban Sahu, Ph. D. Mining Engi-
10899 - LM, Shri Suresh Chandra Sahoo, Diploma neering, Assistant Professor (Grade – I), Department
(Mining Engg), Dy Manager (Mining), CIL, Qr. No C/38, of Mining Eengineering, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad - 826 004,
N.S Nagar, Bharatpur Colony, Talcher, Dist. Angul, (M) 8987419603;
Odisha-759148, (M) 9938525600; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10906 - LM, Shri Chetan Shankar Chide, BE (Indus-
10900 - LM, Shri Balaram Sethy, B Tech (Mining), trial Engg.), Diploma, Mechanical Engineering, Asst.
Dy Manager (Mining), CIL, Qr. No. C/10, Nandira Manager IE, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., Qtr. No B -134,
Colony Talcher, N S Nagar, Angul, Odisha 759103, Block No. 17, Anand Vihar Colony, MCL, Burla Dist.
(M) 9437495272; Sambalpur, Odisha 768020, (M) 9595149082;
Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
[email protected]

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 20 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
(As approved in Council Meeting on 11.03.2023 At WCL Office, Nagpur)

10907 - LM, Dr Nidumukkala Sri Chandrahas, PhD, 10914 - LM, Shri Bhisma Pratap Sahu, BE (Mining),
M.Tech (Open Cast Mining), B.Tech (Mining Engg.), Diploma (Mining), Manager (Mining), MCL, Qr. No. C/33,
Head, Mining Engineering, Malla Reddy Engineering Block No 08, Lingaraj Township, Handidhua, Talcher,
College, Kripa Apartment homes, 203, Jayaberi Park, Angul, Odisha 759100, (M) 9438877387, 8917597202;
Kompally, Hyderabad, TS 501000, (M) 9121647880; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10915 - LM, Shri Hrushi Kanta Sahoo, Diploma (Min-
10908 - LM, Shri M Sathish Kumar, Diploma in Min- ing), Degree (Mining), Manager (Mining), MCL, Lin-
ing Engg., B.Tech (Min Engg), Additional Manager, garaj OCP, MCL, Qr. No IWSS (C/5), Deulibeda
Singrareni Collieries Company Limited, O/o GM (CDN), Colony, Talcher, Angul, Odisha 759100, (M) 8144713583,
Singareni Bhavan, Lakidkapool, Hyderabad – 500004, 9438494554;
(M) 918332974511; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10916 - LM, Shri Dinabandhu Panigrahi, Diploma (Min-
10909 - LM, Shri Durga Prasad Nori, BE (Min Engg), ing), Chief Manager (Mining), Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd,
Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Vice Presi- JC-46, Jagannath Colony, PO Balanda, Dist. Angul,
dent (Business Development), H.No. 6-3-597/A/12/6A, Odisha 759116, (M) 9438877987, 9861309720;
Banjara Avenue, Venkatarama Colony, Khairtabad, Email : [email protected]
Hyderabad – 500 004, (M) 7702955223;
10917 - LM, Shri Srikanta Kumar Manik, Degree in
Email : [email protected]
Engg, MBA, Chief Manager (Mining), Mahanadi Coal-
10910 - LM, Shri Manish Kumar, MBA Finance (Major) fields Ltd. Qr No.C-44, Lingaraj Township, Handidhua,
& Operations (Minor), B.Tech (Min Engg), Deputy Man- PO Handidhua, Talcher, Dist. Angul, Odisha 759 100,
ager (Mining), CCL/CIL, Qr No. 2B/52, Jawahar Nagar (M) 9437452698/8114858686;
Colony, Kanke Road, Ranchi (Jharkhand) 834008, Email : [email protected]
(M)8987595526;
10918 - LM, Shri Pratap Chandra Behera, Diploma
Email : [email protected]
(Mining), Sr. Manager (Mining), MCL/CIL, Qr. No.
10911 - LM, Shri Rajesh Prasad, M.Sc (Applied Ge- C/40, Block -9, Lingaraj Township, PO-Handidhua,
ology), Former GM (Geology), ERCON Engineering, Talcher, Dist. Angul, Odisha 759 100, (M) 9438494387,
Delhi, Flat No 3D, 3rd Floor, Basundhara Appartment, 9165431517;
119/170, P3, Gangarampur Road, Above OSL Bajaj Email : [email protected]
two wheelar Show Room, Maheshtala 700141,
10919 - LM, Shri Ajay Kumar Dehury, Diploma (Min-
Email : [email protected]
ing), General Manager (Mining), MCL, Qr. No. D1,
10912 - LM, Shri Anupam Sekhar Pradhan, M.Tech, Lingaraj Township, Talcher – 758020, Dist. Dhenkanal,
Enviromental Science, Degree Mining, Dy. Manager (M) 9438493652/9437414183;
(Mining), MCL, Qr.No.C/32, Dera, At/PO Dera, MCL Email : [email protected]
Colony, Pin 759103, In front of GM Office, Talcher, Dist
10920 - LM, Shri Babulal Hembrom, BE (Mining),
Angul, Odisha (M) 9437498262;
MBA (HR), Sr. Manager (Mining), MT Hostel, Lingaraj
Email : [email protected]
Township, PO Deulbera Colliery, Talcher, Dist. Angul,
10913 - LM, Shri Ramesh Kumar Panda, BE (Mining), Odisha – 759102, (M) 9438494539/6207452701;
Sr. Manager (Safety), MCL, At Lingaraj Township, Qr Email : [email protected]
No. C127, PO Handhidua, Dist. Angul, Odisha 759100,
10921 - LM, Shri Purna Chandra Rout, Diploma (Min-
(M) 9434649286;
ing), Manager (Mining), MCL, Qtr. No. C 36, Lingaraj
Email : [email protected]
Township, PO Handidhua, Talcher, Dist. Angul, Odisha

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 21 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
759 100, (M) 9438852078; 834 009, Jharkhand, (M) 8986804874;
Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
10922 - LM, Shri Santosh Kumar, Diploma (Mining), 10930 - LM, Shri Sudipta Saha, M.Sc (Tech) Geophys-
Sr. Manager (Mining), MT Hostel, Room No. 33, Lin- ics, Director (Marketing), Catch the rain Consultancy,
garaj Township, Talcher, Near Handidhua Chhak, Dist. BE 21, Action Area IB, New Town, Kolkata 7000156,
Angul, Odisha -759100, (M) 8210733645; (M) 9030303016;
Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
10923 - LM, Shri Prahallad Sahoo, Diploma (Min- 10931 - LM, Shri Achyut Ghatak, BE (Mining), FCC,
ing), AMIE (Mining), Manager (Mining) MCL, CDX 07 General Manager, CIL, Flat No. B2, Block No. 105,
Lingaraj Township, PO - Handidhua, Talcher, Dist. Urban Sabujayan, Jagotipota, Near Calcutta Public
Angul, Odisha 759 100, (M) 9437563190; School, Kolkata -700099, 24 PGS (S), (M) 9433778710;
Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
10924 - LM, Dr Yamuna Singh, M.Sc (Geology), 10932 - LM, Shri Samir Kumar Dash, B.Tech (Min-
Ph.D. (Geology), Scientist – H (Retd.), Atomic Miner- ing), General Manager (Mining), MCL, D - 70, Jagruti
als Directorate for Exploration & Research, Block G, Vihar, MCL, HQ, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha 768020,
Flat – G-7, Rainbow Vistas @ Rock Garden., Opp.IDL, (M) 9437016931;
Green Hills Road, Sanathnagar, PC Moosapet, Hyder- Email : [email protected]
abad -500018, Telangana, (M) 9985549472;
10933 - LM, Shri Girish Gopinathan Nair, B.Tech
Email : [email protected]
(Min), FCC (Coal), General Manager, CIL, Flat No.
10925 - LM, Shri Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, BE (Mining), 1403, Tower – C, Tata Housing Avenida, Dorabji Tata
FCC (Mining), Chief Manager (Mining), CIL, Urban Road, Near Ecospace, Newtown, Kolkata 700160,
Green, Flat No. 1/6G, Rajarhat Main Road, Atghara, (M) 7766898919;
Rajarhat, Kolkata 700136, (M) 9434478317; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10934 - LM, Shri Nilabjendu Ghosh, B.Tech (Mining
10926 - LM, Dr Sankhajit Mitra, M.Sc. (Computer Engg.), M.Tech (Min Safety Engg.), Scientist, CSIR-
Science), Ph.D. (Mining), Sr. Technician, CSIR- CIMFR, Mining Methods and Geomechanics Research
CIMFR, Gyan Mukherjee Road, Behind Sinha Patho- Group, Main Building, Barwa Road, Dhanbad 826001,
logical Clinic, Hirapur, Dhanbad 826 001, Jharkhand, (M) 7044669778;
(M) 9431375330; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10935 - LM, Dr Satyabadi Kumar Jena, AMIE (Mining),
10927 - LM, Dr Bodhisatwa Hazra, B.Sc (H) FCC (Coal), MBA (Finance), Ph.D (Mining), General
Geology, M.Sc (Geology), PhD (Applied Geology), Manager (Mining), WCL, Qr, No. D-13, WCL Indora
Scientist, CSIR-CIMFR, Department of Coal-Rock Complex, Kalpana Nagar, PO. Uppalwadi, Nagpur
Chemistry and Structure, Dhanbad 826 015, Jharkhand, 440026, Maharashtra, (M) 9826209502;
(M) 8900718631; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10936 - LM, Shri Syamal Kumar Jana, Degree
10928 - LM, Dr Arka Jyoti Das, BE (Mining), M.Tech (Mechanical), General Manager (E&M), CIL, Coal Bha-
(Mine Safety Engg.), PhD (Mining), Sr. Scientist, CSIR- wan, Premises-04, MAR, Plot-AF III, Action Area-1A,
CIMFR, Room No 20, Main Building, Barwa Road, Newtown, Rajarhat, Kolkata 700 156, (M) 9748021845;
Dhanbad 826 001, (M) 8340346054; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10937 - LM, Dr Ajay Mandal, Ph.D. (Chem. Engg.),
10929 - LM, Dr Santanu Kr Banerjee, M.Sc (Geology), M.ChE (Chem. Engg.), B.Tech (Chem. Engg.), Profes-
Ph.D (Appl.Geol), Former Chief Manager (Geology), sor, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dept. of Pe-
CMPDI, Flat No. G - 1107, Sri Sai Residency, Block troleum Engineering, Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826 004,
A, Chitragupta Nagar, Baragai Road, Bariyatu, Ranchi (M) 9431711017;
Email : [email protected], [email protected]
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 22 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
10938 - LM, Shri Avinash Madanwad, Chief Manager National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM), Dr Pun-
(Mining), CIL, Flat no.1503, Block - E, New Adarshapally neth Rajkumar Road, Eshwar Nagar, Banashankari 2nd
Road, Gouranganagar, Ghuni, Mouza- Rajarhat, New- Stage, Bengaluru – 560 070, (M) 9449225973;
town, Kolkata 700 159, (M) 9433007168, 8999064744; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected],
10947 - LM, Shri Santosh Kumar Behera, B.Tech (Min
[email protected]
Engg.), Senior Scientist, CSIR-CIMFR, MSA/II-36, CIM-
10939 - LM, Shri Debabrata Banik, BE (Mechani- FR Colony, Barwa Road, Dhanbad 826 001, Jharkhand,
cal), Chief Manager (E&M), Coal India Ltd.,17/2, Kabi (M) 8986760221;
Sukanta Lane, Flat Aparna, Santoshpur, Kolkata Email : [email protected]
7000075, (M) 9874014211;
10948 - LM, Shri Rahul Sarkar, BE (Mining), Chief
Email : [email protected]
Manager, Coal India Ltd., CG 122, Sector II, Salt Lake,
10940 - LM, Shri Kanchanakuntla Jayapal Reddy, Kolkata 700091, (M) 7903341443;
Degree (Mining), Chief Manager (Mining), WCL, H No. Email : [email protected],
C-1, Kailashnagar, Post Sakhara, Tq.Wani, Dist. Yavat- [email protected]
mal, State Maharastra, Pin. 445307, (M) 9822704404;
10949 - LM, Shri Saroj Kumar Shrivastava, B.Mining,
Email : [email protected]
Chief Manager (Mining), CIL, 171, Dupllex, MB Town
10941 - LM, Shri Samir Chandra Sadhu, B.Tech (Min- II, Zingabai Takli, Nagpur, Maharashtra 440 030,
eral Engg.), General Manager (CP), Coal India Limited, (M) 9421803453;
2, Milan Park, Garia, Kolkata 700084, South 24 Pgs, Email : [email protected]
(M) 9102489993;
10950 - LM, Shri Birendra Choudhary, Degree (Mining),
Email : [email protected]
Chief Manager (Mining), WCL, Qtr. C 3, New Tekadi
10942 - LM, Shri Debashis Rauth, B.Tech (Mining), Colony, PO Kanhan (Kamptee), Tah. Parsioni, Dist.
Chief Manager (Mining), CIL, Santi – 1, 1st Floor, Nagpur (MH) 441404, (M) 8975784093;
16, SKB Sarani, Chasipara, Ghugudanga, Dum Dum Email : [email protected]
South, Kolkata 700030, (M) 9474555497, 9433031141;
10951 - LM, Shri Anand Ganpatrao Sangode, B.Tech
Email : [email protected], [email protected]
(Mining Engg.), Diploma (Mining), Sr. Technical Offi-
10943 - LM, Shri Kishore Mondal, M.Tech, Mineral cer, CSIR-Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research,
Exploration, M.Sc (Appl.Geol), B.Sc (Geol), AGM, 17/C, Telankhedi Area, Civil Lines, Nagpur 440 001,
Rungta Sons Pvt. Ltd., D17, Urmila Enclave, Karadagadia, Ph : (O)0712 2510604; (M) 9421536329;
Angul, Odisha, Pin-759123, (M) 8092000647; Email : [email protected],
Email : [email protected] [email protected]
10944 - LM, Shri Ramesh Chandra Sahoo, Degree 10952 - LM, Shri Vishal Kumar, B.Tech (Industrial
(Mining), GM, CMPDI, Flat No. L5, Netaji Subhash Engg. and Management), Asst. Manager (IED), MCL,
Enclave, Gadakan, Mancheswar, Bhubaneswar 751 B-132, New B -Type, Anand Vihar, Burla, Sambalpur,
017, (M) 8917243475; Odisha – 768 020, (M) 9438493153;
Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
10945 - LM, Shri Hemant Kumar Lahuriya, B.Tech 10953 - LM, Shri Akshay Shrikant Bapat, BE (Mining),
(Min), M.Tech (Environmental Science and Engg), FCC (Mining), Executive Director Environment, CIL
Dy Manager (Mining), MCL, C-91, Block -7, Jagruti D5A Rohini Housing Complex, P 225, CIT Scheme
Vihar, MCL Colony, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha 768020, VII M, Block R, Ultadanga, Kolkata – 700 054, (M)
(M) 8763044427; 9669764624;
Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
10946 - LM, Dr. Sripad Ramachandra Naik, B.Tech 10954 - LM, Shri Rajeev Tiwari, B.Tech (Mining), MBA
(Min Engg.), M.Tech (Min Engg.), PhD (Mining Engg), (Marketing), Chief Manager, WCL, Flat No. B/405, Ra-
Scientist & Head, Numerical Modelling Department, chana Sayantara, Phase – I, Hazari Pahad, Nagpur 440

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 23 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
007 Maharashtra, (M) 9425586517; 10964 - LM, Shri Pramod Kumar, Chief Manager
Email : [email protected] (Mining), WCL, D/4, Urjanagar, Tadali, Dist. Chandrapur,
Maharashtra 442406, (M) 9822932537, 9518938275;
10955 - LM, Shri Debabrata Ghosh, B.Tech (Mining),
Email : [email protected]
Chief Manager (Excv), Coal India Ltd, Alokananda, 907,
Godrej Prakriti, 187 I/L, B.T. Road, Sodepur, Kolkata – 10965 - LM, Shri Sanjay Prabhakar Virmalwar, Chief
700115, (M) 9434795217/9434134473; Manager (Mining), WCL, Flat No. A101, Torupai
Email : [email protected] Balaji Appartment, in front of Union Bank, Chhota Bazar,
Hospital ward, Chandrapur 442 401, (M) 7774092316,
10956 - LM, Shri Dipanjan Das, BE (Mining), Deputy 9422135048;
Manager, Coal India Ltd, Flat 3B, CE 1/B/124, Action Email : [email protected]
Area IC, Street No. 190, New Town, Kolkata – 700 156,
(M) 8902019408/7758009408; 10966 - LM, Shri Balaramudu Linla, Sr. Manager
(Mining), WCL, Office of AGM, Wani Area HQ, Urja
Email : [email protected]
Gram, Tadali, Chandrapur Dist., MH 442 406, Ph : 07172
[email protected]
237021 Extn: 1175, (M) 7774092313, 9848014025;
10957 - LM, Shri Deepak Saxena, Chief Manager (Min- Email : [email protected]
ing), Northern Coalfields Ltd, D-39, Sector – B, Colony
10967-LM, Shri Devendra Vanwasrao Meshram,
Dudhichua - 486 888, (M) 9406964103 / 8770060976;
Manager (Mining), WCL, Qtr No B/39, Woni Area
Email : [email protected]
Colony, WCL, at Urjogram, PO Tadali, Dist. Chandra-
10958 - LM, Shri Manish Harish Chawda, Chief Manag- pur, MH-442 406, (M) 8888318389;
er Mining, WCL, WCL Sasti Dhoptala Township, Qtr No Email : [email protected]
C-24, Near Water Tank, Sasti, Ballarshah, Chandrapur, 10968 - LM, Shri Venkatesham Duvva, Chief Manager
Maharasshtra 442905, (M) 8766720435; (Mining), WCL, Qr. No C-13, Rajiv Colony WCL PO
Email : [email protected] Indiranagar, Ghugus, Dt. Chandrapur (MS) 442 505,
10959 - LM, Shri Ravindra Shankar Rao Patil, Manager (M) 77220665854, 9423416545;
(Mining), WCL, C-08, WCL Tekadi Colony, Kanhan, Email : [email protected]
Nagpur 441401, (M) 09604878156; 10969 - LM, Shri Himansu Bikash Das, Chief Man-
Email : [email protected] ager, WCL/CIL, Qrt No C8, Rajiv Colony, WCL Transit
Guest House, Ghughus, Chandrapur – 442505, MH,
10960 - LM, Shri Chepuri Komaraiah, Chief Manager
(M) 9421954954;
Mining, WCL, CIL/PSU, Qr.No C 3 old, WCL Colony,
Email : [email protected]
Subhas ward, Post Ballarpur, Dist. Chandrapur, Maha-
rashtra 442701, (M) 8411881815; 10970 - LM, Shri Raja Kishor Acharya, Chief
Email : [email protected] Manager, WCL/CIL, C - 5, Rajiv Colony, Ghugus, Chandra-
pur, Maharashtra 442 505, (M) 9405819167, 7972369640;
10961 - LM, Shri Narendra Mansaram Ahirkar, Dy. Email : [email protected]
Manager (Mining), WCL, New tekadi Colony, WCL, Qrt.
No.C/7, near gurudwara kandri kanhan, MH 441 404, 10971 - LM, Shri Immareddy Sudhakar Reddy, Chief
(M) 8965902575; Manager (Mining), WCL, D3 Rajiv Colony, Guggus,
Email : [email protected] Tah Chandrapur, Dist. Chandrapur, State MS 442505,
(M) 8412917934;
10962 - LM, Shri Sujit Kumar Pisharodi, Chief Manager Email : [email protected]
(Mining), WCL, Flat No. F2, Wing-A, Aravali Apartment,
10972 - LM, Shri Anant Balwantrao Thakre, Manager
Biyant Nagar, Tukum, Chandrapur – 442401, Ph: 07172
(Mining), WCL, Art No 44, Rajiv Colony, PO Ghuggus,
237012; (M) 9421880476;
Dist. Chandrapur 442505, Ph. 275133, (M) 7774092509,
Email : [email protected]
8459264070;
10963 - LM, Shri Pramod Kumar, General Manager Email : [email protected]
(Mining), WCL, Qr. No D5, Urjagram, Tadali, Chandra-
10973 - LM, Shri Sudarshan Purushottam Ballewar,
pur, MH 442406, (M) 7319116859;
Asst. Manager (Mining), WCL, Matardevi WCL Colony,
Email : [email protected]

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 24 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Ghugus, C Type 1, Dist. Chandrapur (MS) 442505, 10983 - LM, Shri Arun Kumar Sharma, Chief Manager
(M) 7774057838, 9826181467 (Mining), WCL, Sub Area Manager Banglow, Gurhi PO
10974 - LM, Shri Rajballav Singh, Chief Manager Palacharai, Via Eklehra, Dist. Chhindwara, MP 480449,
(Mining), WCL, Qrt No C/12, Double Story, Mun- (M) 9425834532;
goli Township, Kailash Nagar, PO- Sakhra (Coal Email : [email protected]
Gaon), Tah-Wani, Dist. Yawatmal (MS) 445307, 10984 - LM, Shri Sushil Kumar Kanth, Chief Manager
(M) 9098308872; Email : [email protected] (Mining), WCL, Dy GM (Min)/SAM, Ghorawari Agents
10975 - LM, Shri Dipak Rajeshwar Tikle, Chief Man- Bunglow, Ghorawari Tehsil - Junnardeo, Dist. Chhind-
ager (Mining), WCL, C13, Kailashnagar Colony, PO wara (MP) 480 555, (M) 9926661557, 9926661557;
Sakhra, Tah wani, Dist. Yavatmal, (MS) 445307, Email : [email protected],
(M) 9423117135; [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10985 - LM, Shri Yogendra Kumar Singh, Chief Manag-
10976 - LM, Shri Pratapsingh Gulabsingh Pawar, Chief er (Mining) WCL, Gudi, PO - Palachourai, Tah - Junnar-
Manager (Mining), WCL, C-21, Kailashnagar Colony deo, Dist. Chhindwara, MP 480449, (M) 9424300629;
PO – Sakhra, Tah-Wani, Dist. Yawatmal (MS) 445307, Email : [email protected]
(M) 8888180486;
10986 - LM, Shri Swapnil Awasthi, Sr Manager
Email : [email protected]
(Mining), WCL, B-28, Hill Top Colony, Gurhi, PO
10977 - LM, Shri Raju Didarsingh Gill, Dy General Palachaurai, Dist. Chhindwara M.P. 480449,
Managr, WCL, C - 09, Kailash Nagar, Post. Sakhara, Taq (M) 9425140240;
– Wani Dist. Yavatmal, (MS) 445307, (M) 7774074700, Email : [email protected]
8830614566;
Email : [email protected] 10987- LM, Shri Rituraj Sarath Moukhedle, Sr Manager
(M), WCL, Officers Colony, Jwarna, PO Chorawari, Dist
10978 - LM, Shri Umesh Chandra Gupta, General
Chhindwara (MP), (M) 7587595227, 7967459239;
Manager (Mining), WCL, E 701, Kukreja Suncity, Nari
Email : [email protected]
Road, Wappalwari, Nagpur 440026, Maharashtra,
(M) 9006339339; 10988 - LM, Shri Vedhagiri Dhakshnamoorthy, Chief
Email : [email protected] Manager WCL, C1, Officer Colony, near WCL Dispen-
sary Ballarpur, Chandrapur, Maharashtra 442701, (M)
10979 - LM, Shri Anil Kumar Singh, Sr. Manager
9424164868;
(Mining) WCL, WCL Hq, Nagpur, Civil Lines – 440001,
(M) 8275967625; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected] 10989 - LM, Shri Umesh Narayan Anikhindi, Manager
10980 - LM, Shri Anil Kumar Singh, Chief Man- (Mining), WCL, IInd Floor, Lata Kunj Apartment, B/H
ager (Mining), WCLD-3, GM Office Colony, Kan- Petrol Pump, 18, Abhyankar Nagar, Nagpur – 440010,
han Area, WCL, PO Dungaria, Dist. Chhindwara (M) 7218120946;
(MP) 480553, (M) 7587595245, 7725890698; Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected] 10990 - LM, Shri Srikant Krishnarao Titare, Manager,
10981 - LM, Shri Ramarao Bhagavatula, General Man- WCL, Plot No 6, Flat No 101, JK Star Homes, New
ager (Mining), WCL, D/2, GM Complex Colony, PO Amar Nagar, Chikhali Road, Manekiada, Nagpur – 440
Khapaswami, Tah Junnarteo, Chindwara Dist., MP 034, (M) 9861617043;
480551, (M) 7691912137, Email : [email protected]
Email : [email protected]
10990 - LM, Shri Sabannasaba Talakal, B Tech (Min-
10982 - LM, Shri Doma Ramchandra Bankar, Chief ing), MBA (HR), Chief Manager (Mining), WCL, F-304,
Manager (Mining), WCL, Qr. No. C-13, GM Office Col- Ashtavinayak Pooja Apartment, Kalpana Nagar,
ony, Kanhari Area, WCL, PO Dungaria, Distt. Chind- Nagpur, Maharashtra - 440026, (M) 7588743099;
wara (MP) 480553, Ph: 7587595202; (M) 7587595202, Email : [email protected]
7828665747;
Email : [email protected]
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 25 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Chapter Activities

CALCUTTA CHAPTER

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the MGMI current Account balance is about Rs. Two Lakhs
Calcutta Chapter was held on Sunday, 15th Janu- only. He also mentioned that no Fund-raising activ-
ary 2023 at Golden Glow Resort, Dingelpota, North ity could be arranged by the Chapter since 2019. The
24 Paraganas,West Bengal, during the 29th Annual members felt that we must now gear up to organize some
Day Get-together Event of the Chapter. The AGM was Workshop/ Seminar/ Lecture Sessions etc. for propa-
attended by 54 members of the Chapter. It was chaired gating geoscientific knowledge & providing guidance
by Dr. Ajoy Kumar Moitra, Chairman of the Chapter. to the industries as one of our objectives as well as to
The meeting commenced with observing one minute raise funds for smooth running of the Chapter.
silence to pay homage to our Members, who left for It has been decided that MGMI Apex Body will be
their heavenly abode during the past two and a half requested to refund the TDS amount deducted from the
years since the last AGM was held. Chapter’s Sponsors’ contribution, which had been re-
Bhaskar Chakrabarti, General Secretary of the covered by MGMI from the IT department, because of
Chapter& a Council Member of MGMI, presented the use of MGMI’s PAN.
activities of the Chapter during the past 2½ years. The election / selection of the new Executive
The activities were subdued due to the pandemic. Committee for 2023-25 was then undertaken. Most of
There was two virtual and four physical Executive the members suggested to continue with the existing
Committee Meetings during this period. In absence committee. However, after prolonged discussions, the
of the Treasurer, the Secretary presented the audited committee was constituted. The following will be the of-
accounts which was passed by voice vote. The ficer bearers of MGMI Calcutta Chapter during 2023-25.

Patron-in-Chief : Dr B Veera Reddy, President of MGMI (Ex-officio)

Patrons : Dr S M Koley, Dr Anupendu Gupta, Dr Bijan Saha
Chairman : Dr Ajoy Kumar Moitra
Vice Chairmen : Shri S R Panja, Dr Biplab Mukerji
General Secretary : Shri Bhaskar Chakrabarti
Organizing Secretary : Shri Ranjit Kumar Datta
Joint Secretaries : Shri Kamal Ghosh, Shri Arunabha Das
Treasurer : Shri Ajoy Kumar Das
Joint Treasurer : Shri Sudipta Saha
Members : Shri Sajalendu Roy, Shri Amit Sarkar, Shri Sambhu Chakrabarty, Shri Mukti
pada Das, Sheikh Abu Sufiyan, Md. Aminul Islam, Shri Anil Karmakar,
Shri Gopal Mukherjee

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 26 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Annual Get - together 2023

MGMI Calcutta Chapter, known for its unique children along with their teachers and guardians joined
activities, apart from time to time organizing work- and enjoyed. They took part in sports, song, dance and
shops / seminars, lecture sessions on topical techno- thrilled the participants.
scientific issues, makes conscious efforts to promote
Two luxury coaches picked up the participants in the
interaction amongst its members and families. In spite
morning from different parts of Kolkata and outskirts,
of serious infrastructural and financial constraints and
and dropped them back in the evening. Many members
identity crisis faced at times, dedication and enthusi-
came by their own transport. The day at the spot was
asm of the functionaries over the past decades have
spent over breakfast, mid-day snacks and beverages,
proved the Calcutta Chapter as one of the most active
lunch, afternoon tea interspaced with many other fun
and vibrant unit of MGMI. Inaugurated in December
and frolic. There were sports items for members. For
1991, the Chapter organizes Annual Day Get-together
ladies, it was Putting the ball in the basket and, for men,
of its members and their families at a tourist’s spot /
Hit the wicket. Most participants took part in the items
resort in or nearby Kolkata every year and this has be-
joyfully, the elders watching their junior family members
come a flagship event since 1992. Members eagerly
enjoying heartily.
look forward to this yearly occasion that provides a
unique opportunity for them to meet old friends, fellow The Chief Guest on the occasion was Dr. B. Veera
colleagues and new acquaintances besides enjoying Reddy, President, MGMI and Director Technical,
the day with their families. It has been continuing till Coal India Limited, who had kindly glorified the event
2019-20, after which, there had to be a break for two by his presence with family. Dr and Mrs Reddy were
years due to pandemic. This year the 29th Annual Get- welcomed and felicitated with flower bouquet by
together of families of the members was organized on Dr A K Moitra, Chairman accompanied by Bhas-
15th January 2023. It was arranged at Golden Glow kar Chakrabarti, Secretary of the Calcutta Chapter.
Garden, Dingelpota, south of Boral, 24 Paraganas Dr Reddy liked the event and spoke about the need
(S), West Bengal. It is a nice picnic spot covering wide for such get-togethers. He appreciated Calcutta
area with a children’s park, sports ground, dining hall Chapter for inviting the special children keeping in mind
and a banquet hall as well. the social responsibility. Mrs. Reddy was pleased to
It was decided that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) hand over gift packets to these children.
of the MGMI Calcutta Chapter, which could not be The daylong event was attended by 115 persons
arranged due to the pandemic in almost the last three comprising members and their families plus the 60
years, would be held here as many members would guests from ‘Bodhyan’.
join the get-together. The scheduled AGM was held at
the beginning after breakfast at the banquet hall. Friends, colleagues, alma maters, professional
acquaintances and their families remained engrossed
This year the Executive Committee, considering our
the whole day in ‘adda’ (chatting).
social responsibility, decided to entertain a group of
special children at the event. Accordingly an organiza- Prominent MGMI members who took part in the
tion, ‘Bodhyan’ that works to provide social integration get-together were – S/Shri S.K. Chowdhury, Former
for special children through sports & games, cultural Controller General, IBM, Dr S.M. Kolay, Former Direc-
activity and occupation in productive work through tor (T), BCCL, Prasanta Roy, Immediate Past Secre-
occupational therapy, was contacted. They kindly tary, MGMI, Ranajit Talapatra, Hony Secretary, MGMI,
agreed to come and take part in the event. About and executive committee members of Calcutta Chapter.
60 members from the organization, including special The MGMI Calcutta Chapter expresses sincere thanks

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 27 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
to all the participating members, especially to Dr. and At the conclusion, participation mementoes were pre-
Mrs. Reddy for making the event a grand success. sented to the members before leaving.

Welcoming President – Dr A.K. Moitra and Bhaskar Chakrabarti welcome Chief Guest Dr. B. Veera Reddy and
Mrs Reddy.

Activities by Bodhyan Members -- Activities by Bodhyan Members

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 28 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Annual Day Activities – Activities by Members and Families

AGM1 – Annual General Meeting of MGMI Calcutta Chapter

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 29 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Chapter Activities

NAGPUR CHAPTER
MGMI Nagpur Chapter hosted a seminar on "Best dent, MGMI, as Chief Guest, Shri Manoj Kumar, CMD,
Practices in Mineral Sector" on March 12, 2023. WCL, Shri AK Singh, DT WCL among others. More
The seminar featured esteemed guests, including Dr than 100 applications for Life Membership have been
B Veera Reddy, Director (Tech) Coal India & Presi- received from Nagpur.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 30 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Chapter Activities

ODISHA CHAPTER
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES IN
COAL MINING & TRANSFORMATION TO INDUSTRY 4.0”
The National Seminar on “Challenges and As much as 48 technical papers were received from
Strategies in Coal Mining & Transformation to Indus- authors of diverse engineering background of which
try 4.0 – To Meet Energy Needs of the Nation” was 19 papers were presented on the day of seminar in 3
organised by the Mining, Geological & Metallurgical sessions as follows.
Institute of India (MGMI), Odisha Chapter on 26th
Session - I (Mining 4.0 & Innovation),
November 2022 at MCL Auditorium, Jagruti vihar,
MCL Hqs, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha. Session - II (Future Challenges & Strategies in
Mining Industry)
Shri Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary to Government
of India, Ministry of Coal, who was the Chief Guest Session - III (Steps towards Sustainability Goals).
at the Inaugural Session, delivered the Keynote During the technical penal sessions, experts
Address through video conferencing which was also discussed challenges related to land acquisition,
attended by Shri Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, Coal road map to net zero carbon, coal transportation and
India Limited through video conferencing. logistics, bulk material handling and evacuation,
Shri O P Singh, Chairman-cum-Managing Direc- digitalization in mining and autonomous HEMM, Indus-
tor, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), who is the try 4.0, Strata Control and sustainable mining.
Chairman of MGMI-Odisha Chapter, inaugurated Meanwhile, an exhibition was inaugurated by Shri O P
the National Seminar. Singh, CMD, MCL, where 15 different organisations had
Prominent among others at the seminar were Shri put up their exhibits on latest technologies like virtual
Keshav Rao, Director (Personnel), Shri Jugal Kumar reality, mining equipment, traffic management solutions,
Borah, Director (Technical / Projects & Planning) and lighting solutions, energy efficiency measures, etc.
Shri A K Behura, Director (Finance). 300 delegates from 86 organizations participated in the
The National Seminar was hosted by MCL. The Seminar and 15 organizations put up their stalls in the
seminar witnessed delegates from different public Exhibition.
and private sector enterprises as well as technical
institutions.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 31 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 PHOTOS OF ODISHA BRANCH

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 32 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 33 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Chapter Activities

HYDERABAD CHAPTER

Lecture Meet

A lecture was organised by the MGMI Hyderabad Chairman : Shri D K Mohanty, Director
Chapter on 09.12.2922, at Hotel Golconda, Hyder- (Production), NMDC
abad. Two distinguished Speakers were invited for Vice- Chairman : Shri K J Amarnath, Head,
the evening. Mining division, ESCI
1. Dr Abhijeet Mukherjee, General Manager Hon. Secretary : Dr Abhijeet Mukherjee, General
(Exploration) NMDC Limited presented Modern Manager (Exploration), NMDC
Multidisciplinary approach in Diamond exploration Limited
and Drone Based Mineral Exploration.
Hon. Jt. Secretary : Sri M Satish Kumar, SCCL
2. Dr G V Rao, DGM (Mineral Processing)
Hon. Treasurer : Dr P S Jena, NMDC
presented on Modelling studies based on Iron
Ore beneficiation. Executive Members :
Both the presentations provided deep insights on the 1. Shri Satyadev Jaiswal, AGM (BD&CP)
topic and were well appreciated by the members.
2. Shri Ramveer Singh, DGM (Min),
ANNUAL GENERAL BODY MEETING
3. Shri Naveen Dubey, DGM (CP)
The Annual General Body meeting of MGMI Hyder-
President, MGMI Shri B Veera Reddy, Director (Tech-
abad Chapter was held on 09.12.2922, at Hotel Gol-
nical), CIL HQ attended the meeting as a Special
conda, Hyderabad, to elect the new executive Body
Invitee. It was resolved to give wide publicity about
for MGMI Hyderabad Branch. It was attended by
MGMI activities amongst the mining fraternity includ-
about 50 members and invitees.
ing Mining Engineers, Geologists, Metallurgists and
The AGM was conducted by Dr N K Nanda, Former other Engineers associated with the Mineral industry,
President of MGMI and Chairman of Hyderabad Universities and CSIR Institutes etc.
Branch. The Nominations received were proposed
An appeal was made to all associated with the
and approved by the Members in the General Body
mineral industry to become life members of MGMI. This
Meeting.
membership would help individuals immensely to keep
The new executive body for the MGMI Hyderabad abreast of cutting edge technologies, Research papers
Chapter is as follows : and other publications of the institution and also through
seminars, workshops on focussed themes.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 34 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Interview

INTERVIEW WITH MR ASHOK BARAN CHAKRABORTY, FORMER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION
LIMITED

We are pleased to feature Mr. Ashok Baran Chakraborty, a well recog-

nized authority on sustainble development from petroleum exploration and
production industry, in one of our interviews for this issue. Mr. Chakraborty
was previously, the Professor at the Institute of Management Technol-
ogy, Nagpur wherein he designed and conducted National and Inter-
national Management Development Programme (MDP)’s in the area of
Strategic CSR for Sustainable Development. Prior to that he was the
‘Chief Sustainability Officer’ & Head, “Centre of Excellence for Sus-
tainable Development (CESD)” at the Indian Institute of Corporate Af-
fairs (IICA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Before joining IICA he was the
Executive Director ONGC and held key positions as the Chief Carbon Man-
agement & Sustainability (CM&SG), Chief CSR, and Chief HSE. He is now
part of Cuts institute of Regulation and Competition (CIRC) as the Senior Advisor (Sustainability, CSR,
HSE and Climate resilience), to steer multi-faceted sustainability agenda.
He specialises in policy making, strategy formulation, and the program/ project development in the areas
of Sustainable development, Climate Change and CSR. He had overseen high impact CSR projects of
ONGC in the focus areas of healthcare, community development, bio-diversity etc. He has developed
policies, procedures, guidelines, standards and presented papers globally. As on date he has done 32
MDP’s & a few in-company programs in last 7 years at National & International level. Besides, in the field
of HSE, entire gamut of planned programmes/activities were undertaken & organisation achieved that
received laurels at national & international level.
Mr. Ashok B Chakraborty, is BE in Mechanical Engineering (NITK Surathkal), M.Tech (IIT Delhi), MAM
(Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai), MSc (Environmental Science) Kakatiya Uni-
versity, Warangal and holds PG Diplomas in Environmental Management & Environmental Economics
from the Central University, Hyderabad. He has done 15 months advance Management Programme
at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad with modules in US - Arizona and Rice Universities. A
Chevening fellow 2009, University of Cambridge, UK, Mr Chakraborty has been conferred a number of
prestigious awards in the area of Climate Change, Sustainable development and CSR. He was a Distin-
guished Lecturer of the Society for Petroleum Engineers during 2010 and delivered lectures in Malay-
sia, Indonesia, Australia and Russia. He is a fellow of the ‘Institute of Engineers’, Chartered engineer,
Member- Association of British Scholars and Member SPE. As member of the expert group, he designed
PG Diploma in CSR for IGNOU. He is member of the BIS committee for developing standard on ’Sus-
tainable finance’. Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, the Honorary Editor of MGMI, engaged in a discussion with him
regarding various topics that would be of interest to the readers of this journal.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you end up Dehradun. It was here that I came to know of ONGC
at Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited? What since some scientists had visited our operational site
led to your becoming one of the most established for geological studies. It was early 1975 when ONGC
voices in field of carbon management in the petro- started recruiting engineers in a big way and I joined
leum industry? ONGC in June 1975. My first posting was in Kolkata in
the inspection (now quality control) department. There-
Well, After I did my graduation in Mechanical Engineer- after I did some specialisations in different fields viz.
ing from Regional Engineering College, Surathkal in Au- Industrial management, Production Engineering, Safety
gust 1974, now known as NIT Karnataka, I worked for Engineering, Environmental Science and then to Sus-
about 6 months as a site engineer in the underground tainability and Sustainable Development. I had a big
tunnelling operations for a hydroelectric project near span of about 38 years and 5 months in ONGC and

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 35 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
during this period I have had the opportunity to attend example, Shell has already laid out detailed plan for
related postgraduate programmes, specializations and its transition to clean energy including resulting fall in
many trips abroad from ONGC. And after that I worked oil production by 18% by end of the decade. Similarly,
for a period of 5 years with the Ministry of Corporate BP has promised to slash its oil production by 40% and
Affairs in their autonomous Institute called Indian ramp up low carbon spending.
Institute of Corporate Affairs heading the sustainability
Now BP, Shell, Mobil Exxon all the global E & P compa-
centre and there after as Professor in the Institute of
nies have set 2050 as their net zero target. Incidentally,
Management Technology, Nagpur.
IOC has now a subsidiary and listed company for low
Would you like to share with our readers some of carbon, clean and green energy business to meet the
the key phases in the development of the Indian operational requirement of net zero target and beyond.
petroleum industry and what are some of the differ- Likewise, NTPC has also a subsidiary in that direction
ences you are seeing in petroleum exploration and besides planning to go into nuclear power generation
production industry today when you compare it to a even though the company already has solar energy as
few decades ago? the focus area. Most of the companies are moving into
setting up the electric car charging stations or battery
I would first tell you what were the key phases that I saw
swapping, renewables, into carbon capture sequestra-
in the Indian petroleum industry. I shall begin with : when
tion or carbon capture storage and this also forms some
I joined ONGC, it was the era of mid 1970s. There was
of their investment strategies. Likewise, many more-
a new development of Mumbai High and in 1980s there
companies in India are also moving in similar direction.
was a deep-water East Coast development, and also
As we know that the European Union has already of-
a few on-land finds. It is during this period the down-
ficially banned sale of IC engine cars from 2035.
stream refineries also came up in a big way and also,
mid stream pipe lines for natural gas, PNG and LPG This will have a spiral effect on the demand and may be
also came up. In the 1990s there was further growth of in a decade from now, a new scenario will emerge. This
refineries, and also setting up the LNG terminals. Along- is what I feel would be the change in outlook for Oil/Gas
side, the companies started good participation abroad companies, as they are diversifying from their core busi-
by way of equity, acquisition in the producing fields e.g.; ness and thinking more and more towards low carbon
Sudan, Latin America, Russia, Africa and Iran etc. From energy programme in their existing and future activities.
the year 2000 onwards, it was a phase of consolida-
You have long been a reputed professional of car-
tion in all different areas including the diversification in
bon management and sustainable development of
petrochemicals, gas-based power generation and the
energy sector. Kindly let our readers know what
city gas distribution systems etc.
this means and how it helps the society and our
The difference what I see now is, during 1980s, the country.
strength in the company was around 50,000, and as on
I will first begin with the findings of a latest AR6 re-
date, it is around half, 26,000 approximately. This is one
port issued recently. The AR6 Synthesis Report of the
major change. The outsourcing has gone up in almost
Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
all the areas including drilling, data processing, support
which was released on 20th March 2023, concluded a
services, maintenance, production, logistics, construc-
warning that the overshooting of 1.5°C based on the
tion etc. Quantum of drilling has gone down. Diversi-
current scenario would lead to irreversible impact. The
fication in the area of petrochemicals saw rapid rise.
UN Secretary General has already said that this report
The overall production is continuously on downward
is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts
trend and no significant oil finds have been noticed in
by every country and every sector and on every time
the recent past. Since the regular manpower has gone
frame.
down and contractual workers gone high, people are
busy in drawing more and more contracts with contract Having said that, climate change is real and global
management focus. In house competence is also not warming is global warning. It affects all nations and
the same what it was before. Overall, these are part of communities. Therefore, actions to undo or say, to limit
major changes that I see now. the consequences, urgent attention is required. It is the
genesis of carbon management and sustainable devel-
What do you think is the current outlook for the
opment. We set up this department CM & SG in ONGC,
petroleum E&P industry globally in general and
New Delhi way back in May 2005. Incidentally, right
India in particular ?
from beginning till October 2013, it was steered by me
The global E&P Industry is investing in a very big way and my team members. To check the climate crisis,
in the low carbon growth and energy sources. For the only sustainable way is to limit greenhouse gases

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 36 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
and to reduce carbon footprint. A number of ways and sea level, they are likely to be submerged. India has
steps are possible to achieve the mitigation, offsets and a large 7,500 kilometres coast line approximately and
adaptation targets, etc. there is risk of losing some coastal land areas. The
adaptation measures would be equally important.
The scale, energy, and speed are essential for the
society and the country. Continuing further, sustainabil- As regards offshore installations there may not be any
ity is the new USP (unique selling point or unique selling likely effect because they are already deep inside the
proposition) for the industry and it ranks one of the top sea and when those installations were established, the
priorities. The world faces an unprecedented challenge foundations are laid very deep and more than 100 years
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global of data was taken in to account to design the structures,
warming to 1.5°C. Some major areas we see are the platforms and accordingly constructed. So, I donot think,
carbon accounting and offsetting, environmental, social as far as offshore installations in the sea, there would
and governance analytics, supply chain analytics, sus- be any effect. But yes, as you said the areas which are
tainable mobility, green infrastructure and operations, very close to or very near or almost the level of the sea
circular products economy, green products design etc. coast, is likely to get submerged and India has quite a
You may beknowing already, but I must emphasize that few such areas, particularly in states of Gujarat. Maha-
even the Reserve Bank of India has taken cognizance rashtra, Tamil Nadu etc. among others.
of the climate change risk and they have advised all
Do you see climate change constraints as becom-
the banks to have a Board approved policy on climate
ing a limitation to the Petroleum E & P Industry’s
risk management and to reduce their exposure to high
revenue at some point?
carbon emitting businesses in the coming years. SEBI
has issued mandatory reporting namely : BRSR-Busi- No, not in the next 5 to 10 years span as far as revenue
ness Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting with is concerned. Climate change emission consciousness
effect from April 2023 for top 1,000 listed companies has surely increased, no doubt. India is largely an import
and the related information disclosure will enlighten all dependent country. Import of crude oil at about 85%,
the stakeholders. This is just the beginning. The eight gas 53% and coal approximately 24% and demand sup-
National Missions under the National Action Plan on Cli- ply gap is widening. While the production is not keeping
mate Change (NAPCC) namely, solar, enhanced ener- pace with the rising demand of oil and gas, the deficit is
gy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, sustaining the likely to get more prominent, although alternate energy
Himalayan ecosystem, green India, sustainable agricul- growth to a large extent will overcome the situation.
ture and strategic knowledge for climate change were The prices of oil and gas are controlled globally and
set earlier, action and review is in place and 4 more there is little possibility of its softening. You may have
missions have been added; coastal ecosystem, human already seen that the Ukraine war has had its effect in the
health, sustainable transport and offshore wind energy. whole world. Geo-politics plays its role, too. The refinery
margins in India are double in the last one year due to
All the above steps highlight as to why climate change
import of discounted crude oil from Russia. Now this
and sustainable development are so very important and
situation is one of its kind never experienced in past. It
integral to overall humanity wellbeing.
is difficult to guess how long and in what shape it will
If I may interject very briefly, you mentioned the takenobody knows. Though geopolitics does play a role
financial risks, and how the reserve bank and but as far as the revenue is concerned, I don't think it
others have already tried to do some sort of buff- will go down since demand is high, prices stable and so
ering there. But the oil and gas industry are also are the margins. Though the production, more or less is
very close to the coast often times, and there is stagnant as of now, demand will keep on going up and
also physical risk that you may have more natural so the imports.
disasters. In fact, you mentioned the recent IPCC
For reduction of carbon dioxide, what is the poten-
report, and one of the things we have looked at in
tial for enhanced oil recovery with carbon dioxide
that report is that not only does energy have an
capture and storage (CCS) in India?
impact on climate, but that climate change might also
have an impact on the coastal infrastructure of the CCS normally refers to carbon capture and sequestra-
energy business. Is that a direction you also had a tion and we are talking now about CCS for enhanced oil
look at ? recovery. You have to install a surface facility to capture
CO2, clean and inject in the well for enhancing pres-
The effect of climate is definitely not only on precipita-
sure. Similarly, the fluid flowback cleaning and the CO2
tion but also on sea level rise. You are right, the coastal
recovery, because it is miscible in nature. Again, the
lands particularly, which are very low and close to the
cycle of reinjection takes place. Whole process is very

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 37 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
expensive and economical only if the incremental oil The energy outlooks of global oil and gas majors
gain is substantial. We entered into an MoU with Statoil, indicate that hydrogen will be a key energy carrier
Norway and they are doing CCS-EOR for a very long for the future. Could you talk about the scope of
time. They did some studies in our fields too but some diversification or Indian energy companies into
how it did not take off. The other CCS is CO2 capture, sectors such as green Hydrogen?
storage and use. It is open to all industries and it has
Yes. Hydrogen is green only if it is produced using
a huge potential of not only reducing carbon foot print
sources of energy such as solar, wind or biofuels. I am
but also carbon credits as economic benefit, this activity
not referring to the so called grey or blue hydrogen but
would gain momentum.
referring to green hydrogen. Green energy business is
When we had entered into the MoU with Statoil, we the sunrise industry as localization of the key material
had also taken Tata Power on board because they used in the process, the electrolyser and its produc-
have plants there and wanted to reduce their carbon tion for the development of green hydrogen projects
foot print. They were agreeable to CO2 capture and in- are likely to create new avenues for India since solar
jection into offshore field on a joint venture basis. But power is the cheapest in India, about `1.99 per kilowatt
some how the magnitude of the investment on setting hour approximately. India is likely to account for the big-
up infrastructure was huge, and coupled with the risk of gest share of energy demand growth over the next 2
uncertain return, it was difficult for a public sector com- decades. Renewable energy is cheaper but it is in-
pany to pursue such projects. So far as the CO2 utili- termittent and storage batteries at the grid scale are
zation is concerned, the financing support through the costly and if all costs are taken in to account, then RE
sustainable finance mechanisms such as green bonds may not be cheaper compared to coal. As regards
could facilitate it. Carbon credits and a price on carbon coal, we are not considering the high societal costs on
will be a real game-changer. So far, people do not know account of CO2 emissions and air pollution. Also, a $25
whether an effective price for a tonne of CO2 is $5, $50 per tonne CO2 tax (as the minimum recommended by
or $100. So, the market mechanism will surely come the IMF) would raise the costs of coal-based power
sometime later as the indications are and that would set generation. As regards RE, it is known that the price of
the market for carbon trading beside it will bring clarity storage batteries will see downward trend. Accordingly,
on the cost of mitigation projects ROI. scope for energy companies is huge. Refineries are
considering the diversification in this area. There are
Do you think fossil fuels can co-exist with a net-ze-
production linked incentives also for the electrolysers
ro carbon target?
and green hydrogen, announced recently. The Green
Yes. Why not ? It certainly would. There is already India hydrogen target is 5 million metric tons by 2030. This,
vision to achieve net zero by 2070. There are upstream, we are very sure will be achieved easily. Many compa-
midstream and down stream companies operating nies are working in that direction.
which are aiming the net zero emissions from opera-
We understand that low-carbon energy sources
tions through multiple ways. For example, GAIL has set
come with their own set of challenges. For example,
a target of 2040 by going in to green hydrogen, renew-
solar and wind both have large requirements for so-
ables and biofuels. Similar targets have been set by
phisticated materials. Are low carbon sources of
BPCL and HPCL. IOC has set the roadmap to net zero
energy competitive with fossil fuel-based electricity
by 2046, while Reliance Industries have set the target
in India?
of 2035 for net zero. Mitigation, and offsets are part of
the overall plan adopted towards low carbon pathway, Yes. Certainly. Low carbon sources of energy are
in general. competitive to fossil-based electricity generation. As
you mentioned correctly, solar panel involves process-
As mentioned earlier, BP, Shell and Mobil Exxon, they
ing for pure silicon using acids, chemicals, including
have already announced their net zero target by 2050.
hydrogen fluoride and, in addition, some toxic elements
Therefore, I don't think that fossil fuel part will go out in
as well. Similarly, wind mills for wind energy are huge
the near future. Its usage will be reduced day by day,
and it involves tons of concrete, steel, fiber glass and
year upon year and net zero target will also be achieved
some rare earth materials. To alleviate all the materials
because overall deadline has been set as 2070 by our
negative effect, post the useful period, it is the recycling
Hon’ble Prime Minister, which we can only hope, that it
of products and the policy support, which I am sure will
may be advanced to an earlier date in future depending
happen in the days to come.
upon development and progress across sectors meet-
ing our societal needs. It is no secret that companies If India creates a trading system linked to the carbon
are already aware of and working to meet or achieve market where everyone has to pay a carbon price,
their net zero goal before 2050. the use of fossil fuels will be adversely affected as

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 38 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
it will increase the cost of electricity and complete- strate clearly and objectively, the intent : at least 45%
ly change the game. What is your opinion in this reduction in emissions intensity of GDP (emissions per
regard? unit of GDP) from 2005 levels, at least 50% of installed
electricity generation capacity in 2030 would be based
In December 2022, Energy Conservation Amendment on non-fossil fuelbased sources, increase non-fossil en-
Bill was passed by the Parliament and it concluded for ergy capacity to 500 GW (gigawatts) by 2030, reduce
provisions enabling market for carbon credits. Now, the the total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes
Ministry of Power, Government of India has issued a (BT) by 2030, achieve net zero carbon by 2070. An-
draft, enabling carbon credits trading scheme as part other thing, which is probably going to come up dur-
of its process to establish a carbon credit market in ing December this year, when conference of parties
India and sought views from the stake holders. There 28 (COP28) meet at Dubai is : As of now, there are 3
are other schemes like Perform, Achieve and Trade greenhouse gases, which are included in most of the
(PAT), energy efficiency certificates, which are current- Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) announce-
ly traded. Similarly, there are renewable energy certifi- ments of countries - CO2, methane and nitrous oxide.
cates and the renewable purchase obligations. We feel There is a plan to discuss and include other important
that with the carbon market in India duly established, greenhouse gases also such as fluorinated gases be-
some of the existing schemes may be subsumed. So, cause these are also included in the respective NDCs
there will be only single carbon market in the region, of some other countries. So, the accounting for green
and that is good. There is nothing like everyone has to house gases is also likely to increase in the days to
pay a carbon price. No. The use of fossil fuels for pow- come. Concluding here that all this is for one and the
er generation will reduce in future as renewables plus only one thing - to control and to limit the increase in
large battery storage plus grid integration capacity grad- temperature to 1.5°C during the remaining part of this
ually grows more and goes up. Just for your informa- century and to undertake all other steps to reduce the
tion, the new thing has come up now, or likely to come carbon footprint of the individual companies, organiza-
up from January 2026, the exports to European Union tions, countries and to make sure that we go slowly and
may face scrutiny, what is called as carbon border ad- steadily in the non-fossil fuel era. This is all, the crux of
justment mechanism (CBAM) or simply you may call it sustainability and sustainable development.
a carbon tax. Suppliers will have to report, embedded
greenhouse gases, in the manufacturing process, to I was wondering if you can talk about the methane
account for their consignments before taxes are labelled mitigation or leak detection, etc. practices that were
and this is likely to become in force. India and others undertaken by ONGC?
have vehemently opposed to this and to be discussed ONGC had been selected for the coveted natural gas-
in WTO, but as the things stand, the EU Parliament is partner of the year award in 2010 by the US EPA and
likely to take up this new provision shortly and it may be ONGC was the only company outside North America
approved. So, it will have again another effect on the or- and EU to achieve this honour. Earlier, this award used
ganizations or the companies and the countries, want- to go to the US or any European companies, sometimes
ing to export, to be concerned. For example, to produce to some South American companies also, but never to
green steel, using green hydrogen instead of coal and any company outside EU and America. We were for-
other processes companies are considering all options. tunate to have it. I had gone with a big team to New
We are all moving in the direction of low carbon growth Orleans, USA and made a presentation and received
era of using low carbon energy. the award and trophy for ONGC. It was acknowledged
What could be the key policy reforms that you would well in India.
like to see in the petroleum E & P industry in India? How did it happen? Well, I am now talking about 2010,
I feel that pressure on making climate transition will in- but it was around 2006 the actual journey started. I
crease, and it will keep on increasing. It will be similar was attending a seminar here in Delhi, where I came
in other industry sectors as well not only limited to E & across people from the US EPA, who had made video
P companies. Formulation of long-term plan and green- presentations about leak detection and measurement.
house gas emission development, strategy paper is Normally, there are two ways of doing it, one is simply
under way that will spell out the country's roadmap sensor-based indication and the other is to see clearly
moving to net zero goal. Seven or eight sectors spe- with your eyes. So, what attracted me was that if you
cific groups have already been set up to decide on the can see the leak with your naked eye, there is noth-
targeted low emission growth trajectory along with ing more convincing than that. I invited them to our of-
mitigation and adaptation measures. India's revised fice, and the entire team came and I told them to run
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) demon- as many videos and slides as you can and we had a

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 39 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
short team of some 25-27 people. We were really taken period. They came back and started using that cam-
aback that what kind of camera and gadgets they use? era and other gadgets. At that time, it costed little more
What kind of imaging techniques? I said I would like to than a crore of Rupees for camera, it was received from
send my team to the US to see there practically. Let Sweden under the certificate of the US Government and
them see, was their answer. They agreed and we sent a we were the only company in India who had this tech-
team of four or five people and they saw on ground work
nology, backup materials including measurement tools
and facilities. Subsequently, in ONGC, this is how the
etc. We extended help to GAIL, Petronet LNG and other
leaks were detected, measured and also low-pressure
gasses recovered, pressurized and same transported companies. Our team carried the equipment’s them-
through normal pipe channel. selves, did measurement and accounting of methane/
gases leakage, and there after we started giving service
Yes, after our team came back from US, we made a to the other companies as well, received lot of apprecia-
presentation to the board. The year was 2006 when tion and the result was that ; Recognition and Award.
US EPA was having carbon expo in China. Our director Besides, I am happy to share that being the project
and me went to Beijing, China and we signed an MOU proponent from ONGC, developed and registered dur-
with the US EPA in 2006 and joined the natural gas star ing the period 2007-2013, in multiple areas, nearly 12
programme. Then they came and measured the leaks CDM Projects (Clean Development Mechanism) at the
at our major fields all over ONGC for almost 3 weeks UNFCCC gaining over 2 million carbon credits and this
and we were continuously travelling across the coun- was unique achievement among all the CPSE’s in the
try. Finally, we made a presentation to our board that country. We planned and implemented programme of
there is so much potential to curb emissions and we can activities, which was sustainability focussed and water
do all this in a systematic manner slowly and steadily. issue was one among them.
Bigger leaks first. then the smaller ones. Procuring the
tools were all approved. Next came the camera, from Before I close, let me say that lessening of one’s carbon
where to get the camera? It was a security clearance, footprint is wise and extremely important too and follow
which we got it from the US Government. This itself took Reduce-Reuse-Recycle as mantra in day today life and
about 6 months and our team was trained there in this be more sustainable.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 40 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Interview

INTERVIEW WITH MR MANISH SINHA, FORMER EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR, INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED

For the 2nd interview in this issue, we had a very special guest,
Mr Manish Sinha, Former Executive Director, Indian Oil Corporation
Limited, who holds a B.Tech degree in Mining Engineering and M.Tech in
Industrial Engineering & Management from IIT (ISM), Dhanbad in First Class
with Distinction. He contributed at Senior Management Level of Indian Oil
Corporation Limited related to development of Long Term and Short Term
Strategy along with Risk Profiling and their Mitigation of various verticals of
IOCL. Working with the Government and Regulatory Bodies for develop-
ing and implementing Regulation under Explosives, Ammonium Nitrate,
Petroleum Rules and Static and Mobile Pressure Vessel Rules.
He has been a game changer while recasting business to changing
needs of customers in various business sectors of IOCL. He has been actively involved for last 37
years in the field of mining operations, in subjects related to rock blasting, post blast environmental
management, explosives manufacturing, blasting in underground mines and reactive ground
conditions in opencast mines, safety aspects related to storage, transportation and handling of
explosives and large-scale opencast mining involving draglines and shovel dumper combination.
He supported the research projects of mining industry, as have been associated with the
implementation of the numerous projects, in 1980s, led the successful introduction of Bulk Slurry
Explosives Technology in Opencast Coal Mines at Singrauli coalfields, and Permitted Slurry Packaged
Explosives for underground Coal Mines of various degree of gassiness in Jharia and Raniganj
coalfields involving, Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), Petroleum & Explosives Safety
Organization (PESO) and CSIR-Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research, Dhanbad.

Can you give a brief profile of your company back in around the 1980’s, and the first bulk
(IOCL) regarding bulk explosive production, explosive plant in the country was established at
etc., and whether explosives produced by your Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited. At one point
company are being used for production of coal of time, it was one of the largest open cast projects in
also? India, under the technical prowess of the consulting
company, known as Met-Chem from Canada.
Indian Oil Corporation limited (IOCL) is a Fortune
Thereafter from iron ore, we spread to the coal
500 company and is the largest commercial entity in
mining sector and the first bulk explosive plant
the country. IOCL has numerous verticals, meaning
was established by us in the Singrauli coalfields,
it is a highly diversified company. It has business
having large open cast mines. In Singrauli coalfields,
right from upstream, that is from exploration and
we started with a very small quantity of produc-
production of crude oil and gas, upto downstream,
tion of around 2000 metric tonnes per annum and
that is refining and then marketing of the product.
then we gradually spread in other parts of the coal
In addition to oil and gas, we are associated with
mining sector. As of today, we are associated with
petrochemicals, renewables, alternate energy,
all the subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd. (CIL). We were
explosives and cryogenics, other additional verticals
also associated with Singareni Collieries Company
of our product line. In explosives, we (IOCL) are the
Limited (SCCL), having two manufacturing units. Of
pioneer in bulk explosive technology in the country.
late, we have transferred those two manufacturing
The technology was transferred from an erstwhile
units to SCCL itself and have worked as a technical
company called “IRECO Chemicals'', USA, founded
consultant to SCCL for bulk explosives. We are also
by Dr. Melvin A. Cook, the inventor of the “slurry
providing blasting solutions to Copper, Zinc, Iron ore
explosives”. The technology was brought way
and Dolomite mines. Further, IOCL is in the process

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 41 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
of commissioning bulk explosives plants in SCCL and FRP (Fibre-reinforced plastic), so that even in the worst
NLCIL. In India, our footprint is across all the different scenario also, there is no leakage into the earth. All
types of minerals and last year we manufactured about our bulk explosive manufacturing plants have a zero-
342 TMT (Thousand Metric Tonnes), which is almost discharge design, which means that our effluent
30% of the market share. In the balance 70% of the discharge is zero at all the locations. That is the basic
market, there are about 35 manufacturers. It is a highly characteristic or inherent design of our manufacturing
fragmented market and a lot of small-scale industries plants.
are also there in this particular product line. Except
To what extent are Indian coal mining and non-coal
for two multinationals, all the other manufacturers are
mining sectors reliant on explosives for extraction
medium scale or small-scale manufacturers.
of minerals, including coal?
IOCL is the largest provider of Bulk Explosives and
As far as coal is concerned, the amount of over
Blast-based services in the country. A commitment to
burden for coal mining in India is approximately around
innovation and technology is driving differentiation in
2,000 to 2,200 million cubic meters per annum and for
key mining sectors.
removal of overburden, use of explosives is a must,
The business is well positioned for organic growth, with because the strength of the overburden is such that other
an on going commitment to the development of long- than blasting or other than using explosive, it cannot be
term partnerships and strong working relationships with efficiently handled. Of course, in coal, the continuous
customers and suppliers. coal miners are working successfully and to an extent,
they have replaced explosives. The stripping ratio in
IOCL is renowned to respond to customers need for
India is continuously increasing because the mines
safety focused products and higher quality products
are becoming deeper day by day and that is why the
and services.
overburden removal requirement will also increase
Even under the most trying blasting conditions, IOCL and simultaneously the explosive requirement will also
has proven technologies to deliver tangible benefits to grow. As far as the metal sector is concerned, we are
its customers across the entire mining operation. meeting 100% requirement of Steel Authority of India
A highly qualified & skilled team, its vast range of limited (SAIL) and 100% requirement of Hindustan
products, solutions, equipment, technical resourc- Copper limited. In the metal sector, explosives are
es, over 35 years of experience have made IOCL an invariably used as there is no scope for mechanical
acknowledged leader in the Bulk Explosives field in means of cutting the ore and also due to the absence
India. of efficient alternative options for extraction of many of
the minerals.
Indogel brand, from IOCL, is the brand leader among
Bulk Explosives in India and offers benefits like There are global discussions going on for eliminat-
100% safe, variable energy to meet blasting require- ing emissions, particularly from the usage of coal.
ments for all types of rocks, choice of various blend So, from the risk of profiling perspective, do you
ratios on the bench and PLC ensures perfect blend see coal remaining relevant in future?
ratios on the bench for 100% value. As per last year’s data, if we look at the primary
What are some of the key environmental issues energy requirement (in terms of million tonnes of oil
in manufacturing of explosives and how is IOCL equivalent), the share of oil in India is almost 28%,
looking to solve this? whereas the global share of oil is 31%. Similarly, for
natural gas, the global share is about 25% and for In-
In bulk explosive manufacturing plants, as far as air dia, we have about 7%. So, definitely there is a scope
emissions are concerned, IOCL is exclusively using of increasing the usage of natural gas in the energy
LDO/Furnace oil fired boilers only, we are not using any mix. India's share of coal is around 55% and 27% is the
coal fired boilers or any other fuel in order to avoid or to global average. India’s share of nuclear energy is just
minimize the air emissions. As far as water discharge 1% and global is about 4%. India’s share of hydro is 5%
is concerned, the main pollutant of concern is the and global is around 7%. India’s share of renewables
traces of salts of nitrates, because it is highly soluble in is around 4% and globally, it is 6%. So, from this mix
water. To minimise or eliminate the same, a recycling of energy sources available, we have to look at which
arrangement is present in the manufacturing plants and fuel’s share can be increased or which fuel’s share can
we are capturing the effluent at all stages. Even the be decreased.
spillages on the floor are also washed and it is further
taken to a recycling tank. All the storge and process- We are already increasing oil at par with global share
ing tanks are normally made of either stainless steel or and the problem or the threat by doing so is that, for

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 42 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
every increase in crude price by say 1 USD, import Renewables is one area definitely, which has a
bill of India increases by 1 billion USD. So, this is the potential and it will grow, there is no second opinion
very serious impact which India is facing as of now. about it, and especially in India, solar is a major growth
Any scope of increasing usage of oil further will be driver in renewables and compressed biogas is also
really very difficult and it will create problems for the another area which we at IOCL, are also pursuing
Indian economy because the foreign currency usage very aggressively. We have already installed a lot of
will keep on increasing. Further, our rupee (INR) value compressed biogas plants. So, this is an area which
is also continuously depreciating also over the years as definitely will see growth.
compared to the US dollar, so this will further create
But since other fuels have a limitation, we have to
more problems. The geopolitical instability in the South
depend on coal. India cannot afford to reduce coal
West Asian countries from where bulk of the oil & gas
production or reduce dependence on coal, otherwise it
is imported, has resulted diversification of crude and
will be very difficult to meet the growing energy needs
gas basket by adding imports from other parts of globe,
of country and Indian economy to sustain and survive in
like USA and Russia. So, we have tried to diversify the
long term basis.
crude which is being imported, but the threat remains
there because Southwest Asia, the main oil producing If there is a reduction in coal use in future due to
area, is unstable. Hence, it will not be prudent to further climate constraints, what are the alternative business
increase the usage of oil, a difficult proposition for India. opportunities for your company (IOCL), particularly
in terms of explosives.
Secondly, if we want to increase gas, then it is
going to face the same challenges as oil, although the We are a highly diversified company, so we have the
Government of India has taken a policy decision to capability to change our assets and our manpower can
increase the gas share by 15% from present 4% to 5% be suitably utilized in other verticals in other areas.
and our company (IOCL) is also working towards that. But, if we talk about the mining sector, then of course
An extensive natural gas pipelines is under installation, metal will continue to grow. A lot of civil work is in prog-
and the city gas distribution network is under prog- ress, a lot of tunnelling is going on, caverns are under
ress in a very big way. The whole country has been construction. If usage of coal is gradually reduced then
divided into several geographical areas and through definitely explosives will have these other areas to
a bidding process, it has been awarded to the various operate in. At the same time, since our explosive
companies. We (IOCL) have also got a large chunk out of it, vertical is well versed with the mining operation,
because if natural gas comes, it is going to replace the we have an opportunity of looking towards the IOT
oil. But the problem which we are facing with oil will (Internet of Things) application in the mining sector,
continue with gas also. There is no difference in that. because India is not able to catch up with the appli-
So, if we are going to increase gas, ultimately what cation of IT (Information Technology) in the mining
is going to happen, we will further depend on either sector. Since we have the knowledge of the mining
Russia which is the largest producer of natural gas or operation, we can work as an integrator for the IT
the South West Asian Countries, the other major gas solutions of mines. So, this is one area which we are
producing countries. Of course, USA too is driving trying to look at.
natural gas a lot these days because of their shale gas
Is there a role for your business in extraction of
discovery and they have in fact, left the path of coal
critical minerals such as Zinc, Copper, Manganese,
gasification because of shale gas discovery. So, this
Nickel, other rare earth minerals etc. for use in the
proposition of increasing gas is also limited to an
renewable energy sector and in electric vehicles?
extent and India should be very careful and watchful
and it should not go to such an extent that retracting We have customers in the metal sector and we are
becomes very difficult. associated with all the metals except aluminium. Now
we are looking forward to entering the aluminium mines
As far as nuclear is concerned, we don't have
also.
Uranium-235, so this is a very difficult proposition to
grow the power generation from the nuclear industry. Do you see coal mining operations being
So, it is a major challenge for India. carried out through coal cutting continuous mining
technology on a large scale?
As far as the hydroelectric power is concerned,
gradually the rainfall is becoming uncertain as well as For deep seated coal deposits, coal cutting machines
there is a reduction in the rainfall and a lot of environ- are definitely required, this will be the only choice, and
mental issues/concerns are being raised. So, expand- there is no second opinion about it. For surface mines,
ing the hydroelectric energy sector will also be very it will be limited to only the winning of coal and not for
difficult.
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 43 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
the overburden associated with surface or strip mining. your production to be able to meet Coal India's coal
As per my knowledge, continuous coal miners are not production?
working satisfactorily as well as efficiently in hard rock
We have been growing exponentially. In 2015, we were
removal anywhere in the world.
around 100 TMT, and in the 2023 financial year, we
How are you ensuring safety to the mineworkers are now 342 TMT. We are growing almost at more
during the operations carried out using explosives? than twice the pace of industry every year. Sometimes
we have even grown three times the explosive indus-
As far as safety is concerned, we have introduced
try growth in the last five to six years. By 2026, we
safe blasting practices, we have very strong SOP’s
have a plan to double this capacity (from the present
(Standard Operating Procedures) in our system capacity of 350 TMT), to make it +600 TMT in order
and our total system works on these SOP’s. Every to meet the growing demand of coal production in
activity is well defined and enumerated in the SOP India. And for that, we (IOCL) have formed a strategic
and everybody is required to follow these SOP’s for alliance with Coal India Limited (CIL), SCCL & NCLIL
carrying out the process. We are also imparting and under the strategic alliance, they are providing the
training on safe blasting practices right from storage, infrastructure facilities such as requisite land near the
transportation, to the application of the product. At mine site so that the bulk explosives are manufactured
times we are also getting opportunities to impart this right at the doorstep and supply can be assured to them.
training at IICM (Indian Institute of Coal Management),
Are there some key initiatives that have helped
whenever there is a management development
Coal India limited and IOCL bridge the explosive
program taking place there. Sometimes, we are also
demands for the mining requirements of the
called to dwell upon this particular subject of safety, country?
the safe blasting practices etc. Then normally we try to
appraise the users about the characteristics of the Under the strategic alliance between CIL and IOCL,
product, the unsafe incidents taking place, or what is CIL is meeting almost more than 40% of their explosive
the danger associated with the product itself. For e.g. requirement from IOCL. This alliance has been formed
: if it is a cast booster, then what is the risk associat- because earlier CIL was facing extreme problems in
ed with it, how to minimize that risk with that particular getting the product at the right time and also on the
product line. For e.g. : suppose blasting is taking place quality front. So now CIL is assured of supplies from
IOCL. Also, since last year, there has been a huge
in an elevated temperature ground condition, which
crisis of explosives in the country because after the
is often encountered in coal mines, what are the safe
Beirut blast, the import of ammonium nitrate became
practices which are required to be followed and which
a big issue in India. The Ministry of Home Affairs
product(s) can be used, what product characteristics
started verification of the safety conditions of the vari-
should be looked into to decide whether this product ous store houses which were licensed for ammonium
can be used in those elevated temperature conditions nitrate (since it is a hazardous product). During the
or not. Even during application of the product, what process, the license was withdrawn overnight of the
are the safety features available; all these things, we country’s single 50,000 tonne capacity storehouse for
keep on trying to impart training to the workers and ammonium nitrate at Vizag port. But then India was
officers and share information with them as much as under deep trouble because India imports about 30% of
possible. At IIT (ISM), Dhanbad, we had conducted a ammonium nitrate to bridge the gap between the
programme in association with faculty members of IIT demand and supply for ammonium nitrate. And for
(ISM), Dhanbad on safe blasting practices to be de- months together import was suspended and at that
veloped for a number of mines. The programme was time IOCL came forward and we were able to orga-
attended jointly by users as well as our product nize the product from Rashtriya Chemical Fertilizer
application engineers, and for 2-3 mines, (RCF), National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) and GNFC
we tried to develop the SOP’s. Now in the (Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals) Ltd.
next stages, we are thinking of getting it and we got a good support from them as well. Hence,
evaluated by the Director General of Mines Safety we could meet the requirement of Coal India as per the
(DGMS) for further value addition and create a value contractual terms.
proposition for the mining industry.
How is IOCL looking at the welfare of its
The Ministry of Coal and Coal India Limited have a workers and their families as part of the explosives
plan to achieve 1.5-2 billion tonnes of annual coal business?
production in the near future, maybe by 2025 or so. As far as IOCL employees are concerned, there is
Is there a target by which you are looking to increase no differentiation in rules and regulations irrespec-

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 44 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
tive of the vertical in which they are working. As far as requirement and limestone and other mines require-
remuneration and facilities are concerned, it is uniformly ment will definitely pick up in the future.
applicable to all the employees.
How does an economic crisis like the one in 2008
Also, we have SAP (Systems, Applications & Products and the recent one due to Covid-19 impact the
in Data Processing) in place and the ERP (Enterprise explosive industry, or is it based on demand and
Resource Planning) system has been working very business cycles?
nicely in IOCL for the last 18 to 19 years. We are one
Normally, explosive industry business is based on
of the largest SAP users in the country as on date and
demand and business cycles but India has been
it is highly tailored for our use at IOCL. The salaries are
very lucky as far as explosives industry is concerned,
totally centralized at one place, even the reimbur
because it has been continuously witnessing growth,
sements, and the leave application systems are
it has never dipped in the last 30 years. For the last
all online, even the files move online. With the
2-3 years, there has been a sharp growth because of
dedicated internet connectivity at a site, the employee
increase in coal production in the country.
feels well connected with the entire IOCL. During official
travels, all the arrangements for their travel and stay are Are there any other raw materials which could be a
arranged through a system in place. Recently, bottleneck for you from an import perspective or is
a new system for booking for travel and stay is it just ammonium nitrate?
available through our internal website (intranet) and
It is only ammonium nitrate and for that also we are
employees or officers use that facility. Also, the reim-
in an advanced stage of action. We already have
bursement policies are well defined for each employee
consultants working for us. In fact, we are evaluating the
and the reimbursement amount is directly paid to their
production of ammonium nitrate either based on
respective bank accounts. We have one of the
imported ammonia or petcoke & coal blend gasifica-
best medical facilities to take care of entire IOCL
tion route. Also, evaluating long terms arrangement for
family. Our systems are very strongly in place and our
additional quantity of ammonium nitrate from RCFL,
promotion policy is well documented and we have “360
GNFC & NFL and facilitate them for addition of capaci-
degrees for performance appraisal” in place. The
ties at their existing locations. This work is going on
external consultants are assessing the officers indepen-
at quite a fast pace, because we want to mitigate this
dently. All the vertical heads, enter into MoU with the
difficult area. IOCL is enhancing the ammonium nitrate
Directors/Chairman before the start of each year and
storage capacities at various bulk explosives plants.
the overall performance of the employees depend
IOCL is planning to invest over Rs. 2000 crores under the
on the mix of the actual achievement, plus the 360-
Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme after looking at the supply
degree performance, plus the assessment centre
and demand gap. So, this is one bottleneck which IOCL
results. At times, companies like KPMG (Klynveld Peat
has identified and we are working on it.
Marwick and Goerdeler) or EY (Ernst & Young) assist us
in evaluating the performance through all sorts of tools General comments on coal industry and its future
like psychometric tests, analytical tests, group discus- in India
sions, case studies, etc. We have a very nicely laid out Coal, as of today, is facing a huge challenge in
performance assessment/appraisal scheme. At IOCL India because of renewables coming up very fast and
employees are provided with an e-Learning platform to naturally, the pollution angle is there and everybody
continuously upgrade their knowledge and skill across wants to reduce the carbon dioxide content. So, the
all the functions and business verticals. Hence, IOCL is challenge before coal is that, for it to stay in the market,
rated as one of the top 5 “Best Places to work in India”. it has to reduce its cost. And as of date, the evacuation
What is the share of explosives in coal mining as of coal is one of the major constraints in India. A lot of
compared to the other sectors? manual loading of rakes is still taking place and defi-
nitely, there is a scope for improvement in the efficiency
The consumption of explosives in the coal sector is
and the reduction in cost as far as the evacuation of
definitely the highest and the share is somewhere
coal in India is concerned. If we can make coal more
around 68% to 70% of the total explosives being
competitive, it will become very difficult to leave aside
consumed because of high overburden removal
coal. So, we must take proper steps to reduce the cost
requirements. So, if coal goes down, it will definitely
of coal mining in India. Hence, one of the areas is the
have an impact on the explosive industry. But we have
evacuation cost which can definitely be reduced.
some mitigation plan to look at areas other than coal,
especially in metal mines, because the steel production Also, the major CO2 generation is not at the mining
in India is likely to see a big growth and iron ore mines sites, it is at the thermal power plants. So, we should

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 45 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
try to find out how the generation of CO2 could be further reduce the generation of CO2. At the same time,
reduced and if it is generated, how to take care of it. the government must frame a very clear-cut policy for
Recently, there was research conducted by IISc (Indian the next 20-30 years, so that all the stakeholders are
Institute of Science) and they did a survey for one of the very clear about it. Otherwise, there is a lot of confu-
thermal power plants of NTPC located in the state of sion in the minds of the various stakeholders regard-
Telangana and it was found that the sulphur dioxide emis- ing whether coal will continue, its usage will reduce, not
sion is very less because the Indian coal has a very low reduce etc. The government must clearly specify a
sulphur content. So, the demand for FGD’s (Flue mechanism for retirement of old power plants, instal-
Gas Desulphurization), as observed in the western lation of new power plants and so on because the
countries, is not applicable for India and we should not stakeholders have invested a lot of money and hence,
fall into that trap. As there are no indigenous manu- they are looking forward to this direction from the
facturers of FGD in India, we have no other option but
Government of India.
to import the FGD technology, which is very costly.
We should also try to improve on our ESP (Electro- The coal mining industry has brought a lot of develop-
static precipitator) systems to trap maximum possible ment to many places including even the most remote
carbon molecules and we should try to find a way out for part of the country. A lot of hospitals, schools etc. have
capturing carbon and also storage of carbon dioxide. come in the coal mining areas and hence many local
By doing so, we will get some leg room to continue the people are getting employment directly or indirectly.
usage of coal. The carbon dioxide captured can be So, if coal mining is not there, the development which
utilized for EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery), which would has taken place in these remote places of the country
help to increase the recovery rate especially from the will not be sustained. Also, the passenger fare in Indian
depleting oil wells in India. railways is quite low as compared to any other devel-
Also, we should try to start looking at the fuel mix. oped countries. It has been possible only because the
We can use a blend of ammonia with coal which will railways are earning the bulk of their revenue (around
definitely help to reduce the pollution (CO2 generation), 35,000 crore per year) from coal transportation. So, if
but the challenge is how to use it. Also, we should try coal goes away or its usage reduces it is going to have
to use hydrogen along with coal. So, we should try to a multi-dimensional impact on the country. So, we must
find a way of using these types of fuel blends in thermal look in a holistic way, whether we should leave coal or
power plants, which would definitely help in reducing we should continue using coal, but in my opinion, India
the CO2 generation. must continue using coal. We cannot afford to stop us-
ing coal because then our economy will totally be un-
The thermal power plants must start using artificial intel- der the control of oil & gas, other minerals like uranium,
ligence and IOT (Internet of Things) so that their boilers nickel and cadmium producing countries.
work at the best possible efficiency and that will also

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 46 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Perspective Piece

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE JOURNEY OF PETROLEUM

INDUSTRY IN INDIA
T. N. Singh1

Introduction

Oil and natural gas have been the prime source of Petroleum E&P Industry in India
energy all over the globe since the last century and it Oil exploration in India, the then largest colony of
will continue to be one of the main sources of energy the British Empire, started in the thick forests and
in the first half of this century and possibly in the future valleys of the North-Eastern part of the country in remote
as well (Riazi, 2016). The latest information on global frontier regions with scarce human settlement.
energy resources reveals that presently oil and gas Several individuals including Lt. R Wilcox, Major
deliver nearly 55 per cent of the world's energy needs A White, Capt. Francis Jenkins, Capt. P S Hanny,
(BP, 2022). W Griffith, and W Licut Bigge observed petroleum
see pages from the banks of river Dihing, a tributary of
Though coal is the key source of energy in India Brahmaputra river, on different occasions. While search-
contributing about country’s 57 per cent of the primary ing for coal in upper Assam, Mr. C.A Bruce in 1828 and
energy consumption, it is followed by oil and natural Mr H B Medicott in 1865 of the Geological Survey of
gas providing nearly 33 per cent of the primary energy India also noticed oil seepages (Saikia, A, 2011) only
usage (BP, 2022). just seven years after Edwin L Drake drilled the world’s
first oil well in 1859 at Titusville, Pennsylvania, USA.
The petroleum industry in India has come a long way
Subsequently at Nahorpung near Jaipur area of Up-
since the discovery of oil in the late 19th century. The
per Assam, Mr. Goodenough of Mc Killop, Stewart and
industry has played a crucial role in the country's Company, Calcutta drilled a hand-dug well of 102 feet
economic growth and development (EPIC, 2019).Over in 1866, but was unable to attain satisfactory produc-
the years, India has become one of the largest con- tion. In his second attempt in March 1867, oil was struck
sumers of petroleum products being the third-largest at a depth of only 35.97 meters (118 feet) in Asia's
user in the world, following the United States and Chi- first mechanically drilled well in the Margherita area of
na (BP, 2022). India consumed 11.65 Exajoule (EJ) of Upper Assam at Makum.
petroleum products in 2021, which is about 3.54 per The first commercially successful oil well in India was
cent of the world's total primary energy consumption. drilled in September 1889 and completed in November
With the increasing demand for petroleum products, 1890 at a depth of about 202 meters (662 feet) in Dig-
the industry faces several challenges, which need to boi, Assam, by Assam Railways and Trading Company
Limited (AR & T Co. Ltd.), a London - based company,
be addressed to ensure its sustainability and growth.
which yielded 757 litres (200 gallons) of crude oil per
However, there are opportunities along with the
day. This led to the discovery of oil in the region that
challenges, a brief description of which is presented marked a significant milestone in the history of oil explo-
in this article. ration. A photograph of the first discovery well at Digboi
Assam is shown in Figure 1.

Former Director, Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad – 826 001, Jharkhand, India
1

Email: [email protected]

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 47 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 geophysical license was issued by the Assam Govern-
ment. A successful seismic survey was carried out in
Naharkatia during 1937-39, sparking a new wave of
enthusiasm in the search for oil, which ultimately led to
discoveries in the Assam basin. The successful result
of the well NHK-1 in 1937 served as validation for the
geophysical method in oil exploration. After indepen-
dence of India, the visionary leaders of the country
recognized the importance of oil for rapid industrial-
ization and national security, as the world had already
acknowledged its significance. The industrial policy of
1948 was revised to prioritize the development of the
petroleum industry in the nation, unlike the previous
company rule, which was designed to meet the raw
material requirements of the British Empire only.
In order to accelerate exploration in Assam and man-
age the development and production of the Nahorka-
tia and Moran prospects, Oil India Private Limited was
established as a rupee company on 18th February
1959. The company took over BOC's activities in the
region and was owned two - thirds by AOC/BOC and
one-third by the Government of India. In 1961, the
partners became equal stakeholders, transforming Oil
India Limited (OIL) into a joint venture company. OIL
went on to make significant discoveries in the area,
Figure 1: Discovery Well No. 1 at Digboi
including the Kusijan oilfield in 1969 and the Jorajan
According to a story, the discovery was made after a oilfield in 1972, as well as Eocene gas in the Tengakhat
group of logging elephants returned to camp with oil on field of Assam in 1973 (DGH, 2023).
their feet, prompting the English owner to exclaim with
Geophysical survey in the Cambay basin in Gujarat was
joy, "Dig boy, dig!" and leading the search for oil at the
first conducted by GSI in 1948. The first discovery of
site. This tale may have inspired the name of the town,
oil in Independent India was made by AOC in 1953 at
Digboi.
Nahorkatia followed by Moran in 1956, both located in
Lack of technical and financial capabilities of Assam Oil Upper Assam. Even after independence the oil indus-
Company (AOC), a company formed by AR & T Co. try in India was dominated by foreign companies for a
led to a sequence of errors such as disregarding geo- considerable period of time. The Burma Oil Company
logic expertise, participating in wildcat drilling, investing (BOC) retained its position as the largest company in
unwisely, and showing indifference towards India until it ceased operations in mid 1970s.
managerial technical assistance, which collectively
The Government of India formed the Oil and Natural
escalated into a more difficult situation. Later Burma Oil
Gas Directorate (ONGD) under the Ministry of Natural
Company (BOC), a UK-based company, made its way
Resources and Scientific Research in 1955. The objec-
to the Surma Valley in Upper Assam in 1911, and by
tive of ONGD was to expand and increase exploration
1915, it secured oil interests from the Budderpore Oil Co.
activities across multiple regions of the country. The Di-
Ltd, which had been established by a consortium of tea
rectorate was created with a core team of geoscientists
gardeners. After this acquisition, BOC started
from the Geological Survey of India.
exploration activities in the Surma Valley's Badarpur
structure. The BOC acquired AOC's petroleum interests Shortly after its establishment, it became apparent that
in a phased manner, with the entire process concluding the ability of the Directorate to operate efficiently was
by 1921. restricted by its limited financial and administrative
autonomy. Consequently, in early 1956, it was recon-
The BOC in collaboration with British Petroleum (the
stituted as a commission and the Oil and Natural Gas
then Anglo Iranian Oil Company) and Shell, approached
Commission (ONGC) came into existence. Although in
the Indian Government in 1937 with a proposal to
October 1959, an act of parliament granted the ONGC
conduct a geophysical survey of the area. The
more authority by making it a statutory body. Howev-
proposal was approved, and a new form of grant called a
er, it continued to operate under the supervision of the

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 48 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Ministry. The mandate of ONGC was to devise, National Oil Companies (NOCs) - ONGC and OIL, who
encourage, coordinate, and execute initiatives for the were granted Petroleum Exploration Licenses (PELs)
development of petroleum resources and the produc- through nominations (Siddiqui &Anadkat, 2015). Their
tion and distribution of petroleum and its by-products, as exploration activities were mainly focused on onshore
well as to undertake any other tasks assigned to it by the and shallow offshore areas. However, in recognition of
central government from time to time. the need for foreign investment, technology, and capital
to address the future challenges of India's oil economy,
ONGC conducted geophysical surveys scientifically and
the government initiated a strategic move in 1979. This
steadily in potentially prospective areas based on global
involved offering 32 exploration blocks, comprising 15
analogies. The company gave particular emphasis on
onshore and 17 offshore blocks, through a systematic
surveying the Himalayan foothills and adjoining Ganga
bidding process (Siddiqui & Anadkat, 2015; Upadhy-
plains, as well as the alluvial tracts of Gujarat, upper
ay & Gupta, 2020). These initial bidding rounds, also
Assam, and the Bengal basin. Despite conducting
known as Pre-NELP Exploration rounds, were not very
exploratory drilling in the Himalayan foothills in 1957,
successful.
no oil was discovered. However, within a year of its
formation, ONGC struck oil at Cambay basin in To continue efforts to attract foreign investment in the E
Gujarat. This was followed by a series of significant & P industry, the government acquired OIL in 1981 and
discoveries, including the Ankleshwar field in Gujarat in turned it into a full-fledged PSU (Upadhyay & Gupta,
1960, Kalol in 1961, Lakwa in 1964, Geleki in 1968, and 2020). The following year, ONGC made a significant
a gas discovery at Manhar Tibba in Rajasthan in 1969 gas discovery in the Cambay basin's Gandhar field,
(DGH, 2023). Gujarat. By 1986, the KG basin had gained global
recognition for several notable discoveries (Siddiqui
In 1962, ONGC began offshore exploration with a
& Anadkat, 2015). During this time, the government
seismic survey in the Gulf of Cambay, followed by
offered the third round of international bidding for
further surveys in the western offshore region. The
exploration blocks, with OIL and ONGC being offered
detailed surveys in the western offshore region led to
a 40% stake in any viable field found. While some
the discovery of a large structure on Bombay- offshore
foreign companies participated, there was no major
in 1972-73. The drilling of this structure resulted in the
discovery or committed exploration. In the same year,
largest commercial discovery in India, Bombay High.
the foreshore terminal of IOC was commissioned in
This success prompted ONGC to expand its explora-
Chennai. However, OIL and ONGC continued their
tion efforts throughout the western offshore region,
efforts in various parts of India, resulting in OIL's gas
including the Kerala-Konkan basin, and the eastern
discovery in Tanot's Mata Temple in Rajasthan in 1989
offshore area. These efforts led to the discovery of
and ONGC's discovery of South Heera in Mumbai
Bassein and Neelam in the western offshore region
offshore (Siddiqui & Anadkat, 2015).
and PY-3 and Ravva in the eastern offshore region.
OIL also expanded its exploration efforts from Assam During the 1990s, the Indian government made
to Odisha, both onshore and offshore, and went on to significant efforts to open up the Oil and Gas sector in
explore the Andaman offshore and Rajasthan onshore the country. The 4th round of bidding was introduced
regions during 1979-89. By the end of the 1980s, ONGC in 1990, allowing Indian companies to participate with
and OIL had drilled nearly 3100 wells, with a total length foreign companies for the first time, but no signifi-
of 4.9 million meters (DGH, 2023). cant discovery was made. The government adopted
liberalized economic policies in 1991, which led to the
During the mid-1980s, ONGC made significant
delicensing of core groups, including the petroleum
discoveries in the Cauvery and KG basins, while OIL had
sector. As a result, the Oil and Natural Gas Commis-
already discovered the Kharsang oilfield in 1976. ONGC
sion (ONGC) was reorganized as a limited company
continued its exploration and discovered a massive
under the Company’s Act, 1956, and renamed as Oil and
gas field of 283.17 BCM in the Bassein fields off Mum-
Natural Gas Corporation Limited. In 1994, the govern-
bai's coast in the same year. In addition, ONGC also
ment offered more lucrative offers to give momentum
made other discoveries, including the mid-Tapti, south
to the petroleum sector in India. However, this led to
Tapti, and B-55 gas fields. OIL expanded its operations
disagreements in the production sharing agreement.
beyond Assam and ventured into Odisha's offshore
and onshore areas in 1978. Furthermore, OIL explored ONGC ventured into Coal Bed Methane (CBM) explo-
offshore Andamans from 1979 to 1989 and onshore ration in Damodar valley and explored Enhanced Oil
Rajasthan. Recovery (EOR) options in the heavy oil belt of North
Gujarat in the following years. The government conduct-
Before the late 1970s, India's exploration and pro-
ed five rounds of bidding by 1996, offering 126 blocks
duction (E&P) industry was dominated by the two

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 49 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
of land ranging from 1 square km to 50,000 square in domestic oil production is attributed to several
km. In addition to national oil companies and Indian factors, including declining production from old and
private companies, major players such as Shell, Enron, marginal fields, unplanned shutdowns, and operational
Amoco, and Occidental also participated in exploration, losses from a few producing fields (MoPNG, 2022). The
and contracts were awarded to them. decline in crude oil production has forced India to rely
heavily on imports to meet its growing energy needs. The
These government efforts, particularly during 1991-
Government of India has taken several steps to increase
1996, provided the necessary impetus for opening up
domestic oil production, including offering incentives for
the oil and gas sector in India. This led to a streamlined
exploration and production, but the country's ageing oil
process of opening up the sector, and many private
fields and infrastructure pose significant challenges to
players also entered the industry. Hindustan Oil Explo-
achieving self-sufficiency in crude oil production.
ration Company (HOEC), which began its exploration
and production (E & P) venture in 1991, was among the Natural gas production in India stood at 34.02 billion
few initial domestic private players. cubic meters (BCM) in the financial year 2021-22 against
28.67 BCM in 2020-21, with an annual growth rate
To ensure that the oilfield development programs
of 18.7% (MoPNG, 2022). Despite efforts to increase
were in line with national interests and sound reservoir
domestic production, India remains heavily dependent
engineering practices, an independent upstream
on imports to meet its natural gas demand, which has
regulatory body called the Directorate General of Hydro-
been growing rapidly in recent years. The Government
carbons (DGH) was established. The DGH was formed
of India has set ambitious targets to increase the share
by a Government of India resolution dated 08.04.1993,
of natural gas in the country's energy mix, from around
in line with the liberalized policy adopted by the
6% currently to 15% by 2030, and is taking various
government.
steps to encourage investment in the sector and boost
Following the end of the Nomination era and the domestic production, including providing incentives
Pre-NELP Exploration era (1980-95), as well as the for exploration and production activities and offering
Pre-NELP Field rounds (1993-94), the Government marketing and pricing freedom to gas producers.
of India implemented the New Exploration Licensing
The government has also introduced several
Policy (NELP) in 1997 with the aim of attracting sig-
policies to promote the use of alternative fuels such as
nificant investment from Indian and foreign companies,
biofuels, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells. The
utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, new geologi-
National Biofuel Policy was launched in 2018, which
cal concepts, and effective management practices to
aims to increase the use of biofuels in the country to
explore the country's oil and gas reserves and meet
reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The policy outlines
the growing demand for these resources. This policy
the government's vision, objectives, and strategies for
became effective in February 1999 and introduced a
promoting the use of biomass for power generation,
competitive bidding system for exploration licenses,
heating, cooking, and other applications.
requiring National Oil Companies (NOCs) to compete on
an equal footing with both Indian and foreign companies Evolution of Oil Refineries
to secure Petroleum Exploration Licenses (PELs). The
India has a long and distinguished history in the oil-
NELP policy has successfully concluded nine rounds
refining industry. According to historical records, the
of bids, resulting in the signing of production sharing
refining of crude oil in India started with the establish-
contracts for 254 exploration blocks (DGH, 2023).
ment of the Digboi refinery in 1901 near Digboi, Assam.
According to the US Energy Information Administra- This early foray into oil refining was largely driven by
tion (EIA), India was the world's third-largest crude oil the discovery of petroleum fields in the region. The
importer and consumer in 2021, after the United States discovery led to the formation of the Assam Oil
and China (BP, 2022). However, India's domestic Company (AOC), which invested heavily in the area.
crude oil production has been declining in recent years. As a result of a bi-partite treaty signed by the Assam
According to the latest data, crude oil production in the Trading Company and the Assam Oil Company,
fiscal year 2021-22 was 29.69 million metric tonnes the ownership of the field was transferred to the lat-
(MMT), which recorded a decrease of 2.6% compared ter. Meanwhile, the Assam Oil Syndicate launched
to the previous fiscal year's production of 30.49 MMT. its own operations in the area, further exploring and
The contribution to the total production is divided as drilling for oil. This led to the commissioning of a small
follows: ONGC accounts for 65.5% (19.45 MMT), refinery near Mergherita. Later on, the Assam Oil
OIL accounts for 10.1% (2.99 MMT), and PSC/RSC Company merged with the Assam Trading Company to
regime accounts for 24.4% (7.25 MMT). The decline form the Burmah Oil Company. The Burmah Oil Com-

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 50 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
pany then established a modern refinery near Digboi, major players in the refining industry in India.These
which marked a significant milestone in India's oil- refineries are owned by both public and private sector
refining history (IOCL, 2023). companies and are spread across the country, with the
highest concentration of refineries located in the west-
ern region of India with a focus on proximity to crude oil
sources and demand centres, as well as accessibility to
transportation networks.
The refining capacity of India has increased from 62
million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) in 2010
to 249 MMTPA in 2021. In the fiscal year 2021-22,
the production of petroleum products has witnessed
a growth of approximately 8.9%, with the production
volume reaching 254.31 MMT as compared to the
previous year's production of 233.51 MMT (MoPNG,
2022). India has become a net exporter of petroleum
products, and the refining industry has played a crucial
Figure 2 : Digboi Oil Refinery: First Oil Refinery in India. role in the country's economic growth.
(Source : Faijuddin Ahmed, https://www.pgclick.com/
Petroleum products are used in various sectors such
photos/6203/digboi-oil-refinery-%7C%7C-first-oil-refin-
as transportation, power generation, industrial process-
ery-in-india%7C%7C?view_source_id=7. A royalty free
es, and domestic use. The transportation sector is the
photograph which can be used for anything)
largest consumer of petroleum products in India,
After India’s independence, private companies such accounting for about 60% of the total consumption.
as Burmah Shell, ESSO, and Caltex controlled most
Oil and Gas Pipelines
of the refining and distribution systems in the country.
However, the government recognized the importance The transport of oil and gas in India primarily takes
of this sector and decided to increase its control over place through pipelines, which are considered to be the
it through various seminars and meetings (Jha, 2019). most efficient and cost-effective mode of transportation.
Despite the government's desire for more control, Pipelines for oil and gas transportation in India are
it was lacking technological know-how and capital owned and operated by various public and private
investment. As a result, it allowed private companies to sector companies such as Indian Oil Corporation,
expand their activities, leading to the construction of the GAIL (India) Limited, and Reliance Industries Limited.
Vishakhapatnam and Trombay refineries between 1954 According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory
and 1958 (Kumar, 2019). Board (PNGRB), as of March 2021, India had a total of
18,810 km of natural gas pipelines and 17,248 km of
To address the petroleum crisis during the Second
crude oil pipelines (PNGRB, 2023, GAIL, 2023).
Five-Year Plan, the government established Indian
Refineries Limited in 1958. This company was respon- One of the major pipelines in India is the 1,415 km-
sible for producing two new refineries in Noonmati, long Dabhol - Bangalore Gas Pipeline, which runs from
Assam and Barauni, Bihar (Mishra & Mohanty, 2020). Dabhol in Maharashtra to Bangalore in Karnataka,
passing through Goa and Maharashtra. This pipe-
To ensure proper distribution and marketing of the
line has a capacity of 16 mmscmd (million metric
products, Indian Oil was formed in 1964. Over the
standard cubic meters per day) and is operated by GAIL
years, several refineries were established in Cochin,
India. Another important pipeline is the 1,100 km-long
Madras, Haldia, and other locations. In 1976, the
Kochi - Koottanad - Bangalore - Mangalore Pipeline,
Burmah Shell and Caltex Refineries located in Trombay
which transports natural gas from Kochi in Kerala to
and Vishakhapatnam were nationalized, further increas-
various cities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This pipe-
ing government control over the sector (Kumar, 2019).
line has a capacity of 16 MMSCMD and is also operated
Over the years, several refineries were established by GAIL India.
in different parts of the country, which increased the
Apart from these, India has several other major
refining capacity of the country. The Indian Oil
pipelines for oil and gas transportation, such as the
Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Mundra - Bathinda Pipeline, the Barauni - Kanpur Pipe-
Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corpora-
line, the Koyali-Sanganer Pipeline, and the Paradip
tion Limited (HPCL), and Reliance Industries are the
- Haldia - Durgapur Pipeline. These pipelines play a

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 51 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
critical role in ensuring a reliable supply of oil and gas to The oil and gas industry is highly dependent on stable
various parts of the country. geopolitical conditions. Instability or conflict in major
producing regions can disrupt the supply chain and
However, the pipeline infrastructure in India is not
cause prices to rise. Disturbances in the Middle East
without its challenges. Pipeline vandalism and theft
and Ukraine have disrupted the global oil supply. More-
of crude oil and natural gas are common problems
over, changes in government policies and regulations
in many parts of the country, particularly in remote
can impact the profitability of companies operating in
and rural areas. In addition, the construction of new
the industry. Daniel Yergin (2011), winner of the Pulitzer
pipelines often faces opposition from local communities
Prize and hailed by The Business Week and The New
and environmental groups.
York Times has elaborated the complex geopolitical
Pipelines are a crucial mode of transportation for oil web of economic and political interests that has driven
and gas in India, and the country has made significant the search for oil, from the earliest days of the industry
investments in developing its pipeline infrastructure. to the present day with a new epilogue that addresses
However, challenges such as pipeline theft and opposi- the pressing issues of the current energy crisis. The
tion to new pipeline construction must be addressed to government has taken several measures to mitigate the
ensure a reliable and efficient supply of energy to fuel impact of these factors, such as building strategic oil
India's growth. reserves to ensure a steady supply of oil in case of any
disruptions in the global oil market.
Challenges faced by the Oil and Gas Sector
The petroleum industry in India also faces several
The petroleum industry faces several challenges that
environmental concerns, such as air pollution, water
impact its operations, profitability, and sustainability.
pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions (TERI, 2021).
These challenges include :
The petroleum industry is one of the largest sources
The key challenge faced by the petroleum industry of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate
in India is the declining production of crude oil. The change. India has committed to reducing its carbon
country's crude oil production peaked in 1989 - 90 at footprint, and the petroleum industry needs to align
33.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) and has been declin- itself with this goal. The industry needs to explore
ing since then. In 2021-22, the crude oil production in In- cleaner energy sources and adopt technologies that
dia was 29.69 MMT (MoPNG, 2022). On the other hand, reduce its carbon footprint. This shift towards cleaner
India's petroleum consumption has been on an upward energy will require significant investments in research
trend for the past few decades, and it shows no signs and development. The government has introduced
of slowing down in near future. The rising population, several measures to address these concerns, such as
rapid urbanization, and increasing middle - class in- the introduction of Bharat Stage VI emission norms,
comes have contributed to this trend. The domestic pro- which aim to reduce the emissions from vehicles.
duction of petroleum products has not kept pace with this
The regulatory framework governing the petroleum
rising demand, leading to a supply - demand mismatch.
industry in India is also complex and fragmented.
This mismatch has led to increased reliance on imports,
Multiple regulatory bodies of local, state, and federal
thereby compounding the industry's problems.
governments oversee various aspects of the industry gov-
Another major challenge is volatility of oil prices in the erning exploration, production, and transportation, which
international market. Oil and gas prices exhibit a high leads to inconsistencies and delays in decision-making.
degree of volatility and are subject to fluctuation caused Compliance with these regulations is often challenging
by various factors, including geopolitical tensions, and costly, and non - compliance can result in signifi-
supply and demand imbalances, and changes in cant fines and penalties. The industry requires a unified
economic conditions. As a result, companies in the regulatory framework that provides clarity and trans-
industry face challenges in planning and implement- parency, reduces bureaucratic hurdles, and promotes
ing long-term investments and projects (Zhang, 2019). investment.
The Government of India regulates the prices of petro-
India's refining capacity is primarily based on its public
leum products, which has a significant impact on the
sector refineries, with a total capacity of over 220 million
industry's profitability. The government often keeps
metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). However, these
the prices artificially low, leading to under-recovery by
refineries are ageing and require modernization and
oil marketing companies. This under-recovery has a
upgradation. The outdated technology used in these
cascading effect on the industry, affecting investment,
refineries leads to higher operational costs, lower
production, and employment. The government needs
efficiency, and environmental concerns. The indus-
to balance the interests of consumers and the industry
try needs significant investments to upgrade these
while ensuring the sustainability of the sector.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 52 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
refineries to meet the growing demand for petroleum exploration and production activities. This provides an
products. opportunity for the industry to increase domestic pro-
The petroleum industry is constantly evolving, and new duction and reduce dependence on imports.
technologies are emerging that can disrupt traditional Another opportunity for the industry is the develop-
business models. For example, the development of ment of the downstream sector, which includes refining,
renewable energy sources such as solar and wind marketing, and distribution of petroleum products. India
power, along with advancements in battery storage, is has a large and growing market for petroleum products,
posing a threat to the dominance of oil and gas. and the industry has the opportunity to expand and
In addition, the government has taken steps to promote modernize its refining and distribution infrastructure to
energy efficiency and conservation measures. The meet the growing demand for petroleum products.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was established The government has also launched several initiatives
in 2002, which is responsible for promoting energy to promote the use of clean and sustainable energy
conservation and efficiency measures in various sources, such as green hydrogen, solar energy and
sectors. electric vehicles. This provides an opportunity for the
The petroleum industry requires a robust infrastructure industry to diversify and invest in clean energy technol-
to operate efficiently. The transportation and storage ogies, such as green hydrogen, solar power generation
of petroleum products require a vast network of pipe- and battery technology for electric vehicles.
lines, terminals, and storage facilities. However, India's The industry also has the opportunity to invest in
infrastructure is inadequate to meet the industry's research and development to promote innovation and
requirements, leading to bottlenecks and supply the adoption of new technologies. The government has
chain disruptions. The industry requires significant launched several initiatives to promote research and
investments in infrastructure to support its growth and collaboration in the petroleum industry, and the industry
development. can leverage these initiatives to develop and adopt new
In conclusion, the petroleum industry in India has played technologies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and
a crucial role in the country's economic growth and promote sustainability.
development. The industry faces several challenges, India's natural gas sector has witnessed significant
such as declining production, increasing demand, aging growth in recent years, driven by increasing demand
infrastructure, and environmental concerns, which need for cleaner energy sources and government policies
to be addressed to ensure its sustainability and growth. promoting the use of natural gas. This presents a
It requires significant investments in modernization, significant opportunity for the petroleum gas industry in
research and development, and infrastructure to India to expand its pipeline and terminal infrastructure
address these challenges. The government needs to to support the growth of the natural gas sector. The
provide a supportive policy framework that balances the Government of India has also been focusing on
interests of consumers and the industry while ensuring developing gas infrastructure, including the creation of
the sustainability of the sector. Only through sustained the National Gas Grid, which is expected to increase
efforts can the petroleum industry in India thrive and the availability of natural gas across the country.
contribute to the country's economic growth. Additionally, the government has been promoting the
Opportunities development of city gas distribution networks and
increasing the share of natural gas in the country's en-
The petroleum industry in India offers several ergy mix. These developments create opportunities for
opportunities for growth and development. The demand the petroleum gas industry to invest in building pipelines
for petroleum products is expected to continue to grow and terminals to transport and store natural gas, helping
in the foreseeable future. This provides a significant to meet the growing demand for cleaner energy sources
opportunity for the industry to expand and meet the in India.
growing demand for petroleum products.
Another opportunity for the petroleum industry in India
One of the major opportunities for the petroleum is the development of unconventional gas resources
industry in India is the development of the upstream such as coalbed methane, shale gas, and gas hydrates.
sector, which includes exploration and production of India has significant reserves of these resources, and
crude oil and natural gas. India has significant untapped the government has launched several initiatives to in-
reserves of crude oil and natural gas, and the govern- crease its use in the country. The industry can invest in
ment has launched several initiatives to encourage the development of unconventional gas resources.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 53 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Finally, the industry can explore opportunities for Jha, P. (2019). History of the Indian petroleum industry. In
value addition and diversification. This can include the Petroleum Refining and Petrochemicals. Springer.
development of petrochemicals and other value - added Kumar, R. (2019). Petroleum industry. In Encyclopaedia of
products, as well as diversification into related indus- Petroleum Science and Engineering (pp. 293-304). APH Pub-
tries, such as renewable energy and biofuels. lishing.
In conclusion, the petroleum industry in India offers Mishra, B. K., and Mohanty, P. K. (2020). The Petroleum In-
several opportunities for growth and development, dustry and Energy Security in India. In The Palgrave Hand-
including the development of the upstream and book of Energy Security (pp. 361-379). Palgrave Macmillan.
downstream sectors, investment in clean energy MoPNG. (2022). Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Statistics
technologies, and research and development. The 2021-22, Economic and Statistics Division, Ministry of Petro-
industry needs to continue to innovate and adopt new leum and Natural Gas, Government of India, Shastri Bhawan,
technologies to ensure its sustainability and growth in New Delhi, 2022. Retrieved from https://mopng.gov.in/files/
the future. The industry can also explore opportunities TableManagements/IPNG-2021-22_L.pdf
for international cooperation and partnerships. India is PNGRB. (2023). Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory
a key player in the global energy market, and the in- Board (PNGRB) website: https://www.pngrb.gov.in/
dustry can leverage this position to explore opportuni-
Riazi, M. R. (Ed.). (2016). Exploration and Production of Pe-
ties for cooperation and partnerships with other coun-
troleum and Natural Gas. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM
tries in the industry. This can include collaboration on International.
exploration and production activities, joint ventures for
refining and distribution, and partnerships for technology Saikia, A. (2011). Imperialism, Geology and Petroleum:
development and innovation. History of Oil in Colonial Assam. Economic and Political
Weekly, 48-55.
References
Siddiqui, M. A., & Anadkat, N. N. (2015). Overview of Explora-
BP. (2022). BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2022, 71st tion and Production Industry in India. In Unconventional Oil
Edition, Retrieved from https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/ and Gas Resources Handbook (pp. 75-93). Gulf Professional
business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/ Publishing.
statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2022-full-report.pdf
TERI. (2020). India's Petroleum Industry and Environmental
DGH. (2023). Indian Oil and Gas Industry, Directorate Gen- Challenges. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), 2021
eral of Hydrocarbons (Under Ministry of Petroleum and Natu-
ral Gas, Government of India), Retrieved from http://dghindia. Upadhyay, D., and Gupta, V. K. (2020). Challenges and
gov.in/index.php/page?pageId=56#:~:text=The%20first%20 Opportunities in Indian Oil and Gas Industry: A review. Jour-
oil%20discovery%20in,company%20for%20a%20consider- nal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 193, 107406.
able%20period. Yergin, D. (2011). The prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money &
EPIC. (2019). A Brief History of the Indian Oil and Gas Indus- Oower. Simon and Schuster.
try, Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. Zhang, J. (2019). Oil and gas trade between China and
GAIL. (2023). GAIL (India) Limited website: https://gailonline. countries and regions along the ‘Belt and Road’: A panoramic
com/ perspective. Energy Policy, 129, 1111-112

IOCL. (2023). History of Oil Refining in India, Indian Oil Cor-

poration Limited, Retrieved from https://iocl.com/uploads/iocl-
history.mp4

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 54 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Technical Article

EXPLORING DOWNSTREAM ACTIVITIES IN THE PETROLEUM

INDUSTRY
Manish Sinha1 and Ajay Kumar Singh2

Introduction

Downstream activities in the petroleum industry cies, including pricing and distribution policies. The
refer to the various activities involved in processing, Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), an office
refining, and distributing petroleum products. These attached to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
activities are a critical part of the petroleum value of the Government of India gathers and scrutinizes
chain, as they add significant value to the raw crude information about the Oil and Gas prices and
oil extracted from the ground. distributes several reports concerning the Oil & Gas
sector to different stakeholders (PPAC, 2023).
India is one of the world's largest consumers of
Although, the administered price mechanism (APM) has
petroleum products, with demand for crude oil and
been done away with, the government maintains a close
its derivatives increasing steadily in recent years
watch on the prices of petroleum products to ensure
(Bhandari, 2019). The country relies heavily on
that they remain affordable for consumers. The prices of
imports to meet its energy needs, with crude oil
petroleum products in India are linked to the
accounting for a significant portion of the imports.
international crude oil prices, and any fluctuations in the
India has limited domestic oil reserves, and as a
prices of crude oil can have a significant impact on the
result, the country imports most of the crude oil
downstream activities in the petroleum industry.
required to meet its growing energy needs
(Singh, R, 2020). The Government of India has also taken several
measures to promote the use of cleaner fuels and
The downstream activities in the petroleum
reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels. The
industry in India are carried out by a mix of
introduction of cleaner fuels such as compressed
public and private sector companies. The
natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
state-owned oil and gas companies, such as Indian Oil
has helped reduce the emissions from the transport
Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum
sector. CNG and LPG have emerged as clean alter-
Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan
natives to petrol and diesel and have been successful
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), play a
in reducing vehicular pollution (MoPNG, 2021). The
significant role in the downstream sector. These com-
government has also set ambitious targets for the
panies are responsible for refining crude oil into vari-
adoption of electric vehicles in the country, which could
ous petroleum products, such as petrol, diesel, and
have a significant impact on the downstream activities
aviation fuel. In recent years, the Government of
in the petroleum industry. The government has set up
India has taken several measures to encourage
ambitious target of 100% electric vehicles by 2030
private sector participation in the downstream ac-
(ET, 2016). An Overview of oil refining and natural gas
tivities of the petroleum industry. Private companies
has been presented in this paper.
such as Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Nayara
Energy Limited (NEL, Erstwhile Essar Oil Limited) OVERVIEW OF CRUDE OIL REFINING
have entered the market and have set up their re-
Crude oil refining in India is a critical sector for the coun-
fineries to meet the growing demand for petroleum
try's economy. The refining industry in India has been
products in the country (RIL, 2022, Essar, 2022).
growing at a significant pace over the past few years,
The downstream activities in the petroleum industry making it one of the largest refining centers in Asia.
in India are subject to various regulations and poli- India has several refineries spread across the country
that cater to the domestic and international markets.
1
Former Executive Director, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Kolkata, India
Email: [email protected]
2
Former Scientist, CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Barwa Road, Dhanbad, India

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 55 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
The refining industry in India started in the early 1900s
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
with the establishment of the first refinery in Digboi,
(BPCL)
Assam, in 1901. Since then, the refining industry has
come a long way, and today, India has 23 refineries BPCL-Mumbai, MH, 1955 12
with a total refining capacity of 251.22 million metric
tonnes per year (MMTPA) as of 31.03.2022. Out of BPCL-Kochi, Kerala, 1963 15.5
this, over 65% of the capacity is owned by public sector BPCL- BORL-Bina, MP, 2011 7.8
companies like Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL),
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Total BPCL 35.3
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL),and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) 3
Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), a
subsidiary of IOCL and joint ventures like BORL and Numaligarh, Assam,1999
HMEL, while the rest by private companies, Reliance
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
Industries Limited (RIL) and Nayara Energy Limited.
(ONGC)
(NEL). Table 1 presents the names of refineries in India,
their commissioning years and refining capacities as of ONGC-Tatipaka, AP, 2001 0.07
2021-22.
MRPL-Mangalore, Karnataka 15
Table 1: Refineries in India with their capacities as of
31st March 2022 Total ONGC 15.07
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)
Oil Companies/ Refinery Name/ Year Refining
of Commissioning capacity RIL,Jamnagar, Gujarat, 1999 33
(MMTPA) RIL-(SEZ), Jamnagar, Gujarat, 2008 35.2
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) Total RIL 68.2
IOCL-Koyali, Gujarat, 1965 13.7 Nayara Energy Ltd. (NEL)
IOCL-Mathura, UP, 1982 8 Vadinar, Gujarat, (Formerly ESSAR
20
IOCL-Panipat, Haryana, 1998 15 OIL LTD.), 2006

IOCL-Haldia, WB, 1975 8 HMEL, Bhatinda, Punjab, 2012 11.3

IOCL-Barauni, Bihar, 1964 6 GRAND TOTAL 251.22

IOCL-Digboi, Assam, 1901 0.65 It can be seen from Table 1 that India has estab-
lished a significant refining capacity. According to the
IOCL-Guwahati, Assam, 1962 1
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG, 2022),
IOCL-Bongaigaon, Assam, 1974 2.7 the total crude oil processed by refineries in India
IOCL-Paradip, Odisha, 2016 15 during the financial year 2021 - 22 was 241.70 MMTPA,
which was 96.2% of the installed refining capacity. The
Total IOCL 70.05 annual crude oil production in India was 29.70 MMTPA in
Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd 2021-22, which meets only 12.3% of the country's
(CPCL), a subsidiary of IOCL total crude oil requirements. The rest 212 MMT was
met through imports. Tables 2 (a) and 2 (b) exhibit the
CPCL-Manali, Tamilnadu, 1965 10.5
annual quantities of crude oil processed by various oil
Grand Total IOCL 80.05 companies/refineries, beginning from the fiscal year
1998-99. The trend of crude oil processing from FY
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
Ltd. (HPCL) 1998-99 to 2021-22 is illustrated in Figure 1, which
indicates a steady increase in the amount of oil
HPCL-Mumbai, MH, 1954 9.5 processed, with the exception of a decline during the
HPCL-Visakhapatnam, AP, 1957 8.3 pandemic period. However, the processing of oil has
resumed its upward trajectory in 2021 - 22.
Total HPCL 17.8

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 56 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 1: Trend of crude oil production in India from 1998-199 onwards

The refineries produce various petroleum products

such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG, naphtha, ATF,
lubricants, and bitumen, among others. Compared to
the fiscal year of 2020-21, the production of petroleum
products in FY 2021-22 increased by 8.9%, resulting
in the production of 253.3 million metric tons (MMT)
of petroleum products, among which the production
share was maximum for Diesel (42.50%) and minimum
(0.50%) for Lubes and Greases (MoPNG, 2022).
The quantity of petroleum products produced in the
fiscal year 2021-22 amounted to 253.3 million metric
tons (MMT), registering an increase of 8.9% against the
FY 2020-21. Tables 3(a) and 3(b) provide information
on the output of different petroleum products from 1997-
98 to 2021-22. The tables outline the production figures
for a variety of petroleum products over the specified
time frame. These tables present data on the amount of Figure 2 : Production of petroleum products
petroleum products in thousand metric tonne that were
Figure 2 illustrates the production trend of petroleum
produced each year, ranging from 1997-98 to 2021-22.
products from 1997-98 to 2021-22, with a linear trend
line displayed on the graph. The data clearly indi-

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 57 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
cates a steady linear increase in petroleum product Piped Natural Gas (PNG) has emerged as a
production during the stated time frame. However, it is convenient and safe alternative to traditional Liquified
difficult to predict the future scenario for petroleum Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders that is being ad-
product production, as it can be influenced by various opted by households, industries, and commercial
factors such as market demand, government policies, establishments across India. PNG is supplied through
and technological advancements. It is important to keep a network of pipelines directly to the premises of the
a watchful eye on this trend to ensure that it remains consumers, eliminating the need for manual handling
sustainable and environmentally responsible. and storage of LPG cylinders. As of 31st January
2023, there are over 10.61 billion PNG connections in
Production and Consumption of Natural Gas
India in the domestic, commercial and industrial sector,
In the fiscal year 2021-22, gross natural gas produc- with the highest number of connections in the states of
tion reached 34,024 million cubic meters (MCM), Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi. The government
marking an 18.7% increase from the previous year's and gas distribution companies are working towards
production of 28,672 MCM. The contribution to the total expanding the PNG network to more cities and towns,
gross production was 60.6% from ONGC (nomination), with the aim of providing clean and affordable energy to
8.5% from OIL (nomination), and the remaining 30.9% a larger section of the population.
from PSC/RSC/CBM regime. However, the net natural
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is an alternative fuel
gas production for the same period was 33,131 MCM,
that is being promoted by the Government of India due
which recorded a growth of 19.25% compared to the net
to its environmental benefits and cost-effectiveness.
production of 27,784 MCM in the previous year. Table 4
To support the growth of CNG vehicles in the country,
provides information on the gross and net gas produc-
there has been a significant increase in the number of
tion of natural gas between 2011-12 to 2021-22.
CNG stations across India in recent years. As of 31st
Gross natural gas production refers to the total amount January 2023, there are over 5,118 CNG stations in
of natural gas extracted from a particular field or well, India, with the highest concentration in the states of
regardless of how much of that gas is ultimately sold Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi. The expansion of CNG
or used. Net natural gas production, on the other hand, stations has been driven by the efforts of oil marketing
refers to the amount of gas that is available for sale or companies, private companies, and state governments
use after deducting any non-marketable gas, such as to meet the increasing demand for CNG. The current
gas that is flared or reinjected into the reservoir. status of CNG stations and PNG connections in India is
Net production is often used as a more accurate provided in Table 6.
measure of a field's productivity, as it takes into account Export and Import of Crude, Natural Gas and
the amount of gas that is actually available for use. Petroleum Products
Factors such as reservoir pressure, the quality of the
The exchange rate between Indian Rupees and US
gas, and the efficiency of the extraction process can all
dollars is crucial since the price of crude oil in interna-
affect the ratio of gross to net natural gas production.
tional markets is quoted in US dollars. The rise and
Total consumption of natural gas in 2021-22 stands at volatility of oil and petroleum product prices in global
63.91 billion cubic meters (BCM) which is 5.08% higher markets have been a matter of concern since 2004. In
than the consumption during the 2020-21 (60.82 BCM). March 2002, the Indian basket of crude oil averaged
Consumption of Natural gas for energy purpose as fuel around $23/bbl and increased to $36/bbl in May 2004.
stand at 63.1% against 36.9% for non-energy purpose However, the average price of Indian crude oil further
as feedstock. During 2021-22, highest consumption rose to $85.09 per barrel during 2010-11 and $111.89/
of natural gas was in fertilizer industry at 30.4% fol- bbl during 2011-12. The prices of crude oil remained at
lowed by City & Local Natural Gas Distribution Network over $100/bbl for three years before falling sharply dur-
(including Road Transport) at 20.4%, power sector ing the second half of 2014. Consequently, the average
15.0% and refinery 8.9%. Monthly consumption of natu- price of Indian crude oil basket was recorded at $46.17/
ral gas in India for the fiscal year 2020-21 is shown in bbl, $47.56/bbl, and $56.43/bbl during 2015-16, 2016-
Table 5. 17, and 2017-18, respectively. The price then increased

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 58 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
to $69.88/bbl in 2018-19, fell to $60.47/bbl in 2019-20, www.essar.com/asset-builder/indias-second-largest-private-
and further fell to $44.82/bbl during 2020-21 due to the sector-refinery/
impact of Covid-19. The international crude oil price
ET. (2016). India aims to become 100% e-vehicle nation by
(Indian basket) dipped by 76.7% from 44.82 US $/bbl
2030, Economic Times, 26th March, Retrieved from https://
during 2020-21 to 79.18 US $/bbl during 2021-22.
economictimes.indiatimes.com/india-aims-to-become-100-e-
During 2021-22, the import of crude oil amounted to vehicle-nation-by-2030-piyush-goyal/articleshow/51551706.
211.98 MMT worth Rs. 8,99,312 crore, which is 7.9% cms
higher in quantity and Rs. 95.6% higher in value com-
MoPNG. (2021). Annual Report 2020-21, Ministry of Petro-
pared to the previous year's import of 196.46 MMT
leum & Natural Gas, Government of India. Retrieved from
valued at Rs.4,59,779 crore. Similarly, the import of
natural gas (LNG) during 2021-22 was 23.23 MMT https://mopng.gov.in/files/TableManagements/MoPNG-Annu-
worth 1,00,011 crore, which is 6.8% lower in quantity al-Report-combined.pdf
but 72.1% higher in value compared to the previous MoPNG. (2022). Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Statistics
year's import of 24.93 MMT valued at 58,129 crore. 2021-22, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government
In 2021-22, the total import of petroleum products was of India, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi, 2022. Retrieved from
42.06 MMT worth Rs.1,88,636 crore, which is 2.7% https://mopng.gov.in/files/TableManagements/IPNG-2021-
lower in quantity compared to the previous fiscal year, 22_L.pdf
but 72.4% higher in terms of value. On the other hand,
PPAC. (2023). Snapshot of India’s Oil & Gas data, Petroleum
the total export of petroleum products in 2021-22 was
Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), Ministry of Petroleum & Nat-
62.71 MMT worth 3,31,615 crore, showing an increase
ural Gas, Government of India. Retrieved from https://ppac.
of 10.5% in quantity and 111% in value compared to
gov.in/uploads/rep_studies/1679987489_Snapshot_of_In-
the previous year's export of 56.77 MMT valued at Rs.
dias_Oil_Gas_data_Feb_2023.pdf
1,57,168 crore (MoPNG, 2022).
RIL. (2022). Petroleum Refining and Marketing. Retrieved
References
from https://www.ril.com/OurBusinesses/PetroleumRefinin-
Bhandari, S. (2019). Downstream petroleum sector in India:
gAndMarketing.aspx
trends, challenges, and future prospects. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 211, 311-320. Singh, R. (2020). Indian oil and gas sector: emerging trends
and opportunities. International Journal of Energy Economics
Essar. (2022). Vadinar Refinery: India’s second largest pri-
and Policy, 10(5), 266-272.
vate sector refinery, Essar Oil Limited, Retrieved from https://

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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 61 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Table 2 (a) (b) : Crude oil processed by Oil Companies/Refineries (2011-12 to 2021-22)

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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 64 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 66 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 67 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 70 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Technical ARTICLE

SCOPE AND OPPORTUNITY OF CO2 SEQUESTRATION FOR

ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY
Shubham Prakash1, and Ajay Mandal1,*

Introduction

India is the third-largest CO2 emitter, after China to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
and the United States. Around 2.63 Gtpa of CO2 was without CCUS. IEA defines Carbon Capture, Utilization
emitted in 2019 followed by a reduced level of 2.45 and Storage (CCUS) as a combination of technolo-
Gtpa in 2020 owing to widespread economic slow- gies for capturing CO2 from large and stationary CO2
down because of the global pandemic but the global emitting sources, such as fossil fuel-based power
vaccination program has helped the countries to again plants and other industries. The captured CO2 is then
drive the economy forward with full vigor. The increase transported by different means such as pipelines, and
in CO2 emissions to 2.71 Gtpa in 2021, a nearly 265 shipped via rail or road to the specific sites. CO2 could be
million tonnes increase over the 2020 level, has utilized in various surface applications such as industrial
created a worrisome scenario for several stake hold- fixation into inorganic carbonates or it could be
ers since the severe environmental impact of higher injected into geological formations such as saline
CO2 levels in the atmosphere is clearly acknowl- aquifers, depleted oil or gas reservoirs, and un-mine-
edged. India's per capita CO2 emissions were 1.93 able coal seams for permanent storage and effective
tonnes in 2021, which is much lower than the global trapping of the CO2. The direct capturing of CO2 requires
average per capita emission of 4.69 tonnes in the same technologically-proven and economic-viable pathways.
year (IEA, 2022). However, with the rapid increase CCUS also involves the transport of the captured CO2
in the standard of living, infrastructure and industrial (typically by pipeline in certain situations or through
expansion, coupled with the increased pressure to shipping by rail or trucks) to sites, either for utiliza-
cater to the large population, the carbon footprint of the tion in different applications or injection into geological
nation is expected to increase rampantly. While the formations or depleted oil and gas reservoirs for
Government of India has indeed pledged to permanent storage and trapping of the CO2. Direct Air
reduce the emission by 50% by 2050 and reach net Capture (DAC), one of the integral parts of CCUS, al-
zero by 2070 at the United Nations Climate Change lows the direct capture of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland Since DAC is still in its premature stage, its economics
in November 2021. To achieve these targets, the and operational possibility have not yet been well-de-
Government of India has set several measures fined. CCUS can help in the extensive decarbonization
including the promotion of carbon capture and storage of CO2 emission-intensive sectors such as petrochemi-
technologies. Although the deadline is five decades cals, steel, cement, and thermal power generation
away, energy transformations take decades to and further act as a catalyst for incubating emerging
materialize. Therefore, it is critical to put the frame- industries like coal gasification and India's budding
work and policy tools in place to build low-carbon tech hydrogen economy. In long run, it will promote the
nologies and contribute significantly in the decarbon- development of clean products while utilizing our
ization process of India. abundant coal resources, lowering imports, and
ultimately boosting the Indian economy.
CCUS, incorporating CCS with CO2 - EOR
Utilization pathways (dictates the CCS)
The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that
realizing net zero without CCUS is almost unfeasible There are many opportunities to use the captured CO2.
in September 2020 report. According to IPCC, it would While some technologies use CO2 by transforming the
be impossible to stabilize the CO2 concentration in the gas via biological and chemical processes and others
atmosphere between 450 and 750 parts per million by are directly using the compressed gas without under
volume (ppmv) and keep the rise in global temperature
1
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad– 826004, India
*Corresponding Author, Email : [email protected]

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 71 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
going any conversion. The fertilizer industry, which uses hydrogen policies, etc. could bring down emission
130 Mt CO2 to manufacture urea, is the biggest car- levels significantly through the production of cleaner
bon dioxide consumer. It is followed by the oil and gas fuels. Another method of utilizing CO2 is by direct com-
sector, where 75 Mt CO2 is consumed for EOR appli- bination of CO2 with cyclic ethers to yield polymer fam-
cation globally. It is high time for India to open up the ily.Since aggregates and concrete have a sizable mar-
horizon for the usage of CO2 for EOR purposes as it ket in developing nations like India, the new technology
has vast sedimentary basins with large sequestration of utilizing CO2 for the production of building materials-
potential. Various other initiatives such as methanol seems to be an attractive option. Figure 1 shows the
economy program, ethanol-blended petrol, new green broad range of applications where CO2 can be utilized.

CO2 Utilization Fuels (Methane, Methanol, Gasoline)

Pathways

Conversion Building materials (Aggregates, cement, concrete)

Chemicals (Chemical intermediates, polymer)

Solvent (EOR, Dry cleaning, decaffeination)

Direct use
Heat transfer fluid (refrigeration, Supercritcical fluid)

Yield booster (Urea, greenhouse)

Food beverages, welding, medical use

Figure 1. Classification of modes of CO2 usage in various applications (Hepburn et al., 2019)

Carbon Capture Technologies of energy penalty only, post-combustion is a more

attractive option (Vasudevan et al., 2016).
CO2 can be captured from the gas streams,
emitted by industrial plants such as iron and steel plants, The capital cost and cash costs of carbon capture
power plants, cement plants etc., with the help of mainly depend on CO2 pressure, density and purity after the
3 kinds of capture systems namely, post-combus- extraction process, electrical consumption and CO2
tion capture, pre-combustion, and oxy-fuel combus- capture technologies are employed. According to
tion. Studies indicated that CO2 capture from natural studies, the gasification process has the lowest CO2
gas-based power plants has the lowest energy penalty capture cost because carbon capture is already incor-
when pre-combustion technology is employed, thus the porated into the process and only the compression
best choice for the new power plants. While retrofitting cost of CO2 gas stream is associated with this process
cost for pre-combustion can add up the capital costs or (Figure 2). Industrial processes such as SMR-based H2
oxy-post combustion capture is a better option. In terms production, iron and steel, cement etc have higher costs

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 72 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
associated with CO2 capture as the cost components of all major industries. CO2 concentration is minimum in
include capturing, gas processing, and compressing ex- coal-based power plants and thus it has the highest
penses. Since CO2 concentration is the lowest for coal- capture cost among all the industries.
based power plants, the capture cost is the highest out

Figure 2. Emission levels for 2020 and 2030 across all major industries and the associated Capture cost data
(Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage
(CCUS), 2022).

Figure 3. Analysis of CO2 capture mature technologies (Kammerer et al., 2022)

In Figure 3, the classification is shown for the list of In addition to this, there are many technologies still in
matured CO2 technologies based on the interaction- the developmental phase including microbial, mem-
with chemical and physical interactions happening at brane and algae-based CO2 capture technologies. CO2
the interface of CO2 molecules and foreign substances. Emission levels for different states are reported in Table
1.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 73 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Table 1 : CO2 Emission levels for different states (Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India
Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), 2022).

CO2 emission CO2 emission

States States
levels (Mtpa) levels (Mtpa)
Maharashtra 109 Tamil Nadu 61
Uttar Pradesh 107 West Bengal 60
Chhattisgarh 105 Odisha 57
Madhya Pradesh 97 Andhra Pradesh 49
Gujarat 70 Rajasthan 42

Of all the states, the one having the higher emission temperature. Additionally, it aids in the long-term storage
levels should be the focal point for utilizing the anthro- of CO2 in oil reservoirs, making CO2- EOR a viable option
pogenic CO2. These states should be given priority for reducing CO2. Compressed CO2 is injected into the
to hasten the capture process with a centralized CO2 reservoir during CO2- EOR. CO2 and oil are easily
processing system to make the capture and transporta- miscible at high densities. The swelling of oil and
tion economically viable. significant viscosity reduction mobilize the oil and
increasethe capillary number to the desired level that
The success of the CCUS value chain depends on forces oil out of the pore spaces of formations and to-
the actors in each part of the CCUS value chain ward the production wells (Fink, 2011). In most cases,
acting in close coordination with each other. In order to water-alternating gas (WAG) is practiced, where an al-
incentivize coordination between actors across the ternate slug of gas and water is injected into the reser-
CCUS value chain, there is a need for an appropri- voir after secondary flooding to control the mobility of
ate enabling policy framework and business model. A gas and prevent its escaping. As Indian oil fields are
suitable enabling legislative framework and business getting close to their matured stage, it is environmen-
model are vital to encourage and foster collabora- tally sustainable and economically viable for CO2- EOR
tion amongst operators along the CCUS value chain. to extract the residual oil.
Recently, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmed-
abad, in collaboration with knowledge partners NTPC CO2 Storage in geological formations
NETRA and Power Finance Corporation, Delhi, pre- For storing CO2 in a geological formation, it is
pared a report on behalf of the Ministry of Power, Gov- important to find out a rough estimate of the CO2
ernment of India. The report offers valuable insights storage capacity of the formation. There are different
and decision-making points for investment opportuni- CO2 storage and utilization pathways such as Enhanced
ties in various sectors. According to the report, the CCU oil recovery, Enhanced Coal bed methane recovery and
market size is expected to increase significantly from a the use of aquifers and basaltic formation for perma-
couple of units in 2050 (Garg, et al., 2023). It is impera- nent storage of CO2. Various exploration activities are
tive, therefore, for various players associated with the conducted to determine the extractable oil present in
CCUS value chain to work in close coordination with the reservoir. No such attempt has been made so far
each other to make it a successful venture. to explore reservoirs for permanent sequestration. The
CO2 - EOR prospects data on the storage capacity of different reservoirs are
thus evaluated theoretically by various competent bod-
In the SACROC (Scurry Area Canyon Reef Opera- ies. NITI Aayog in its report on “Carbon Capture, Uti-
tors Committee) Unit of the Kelly - Snyder field in West lization and Storage (CCUS), Policy Framework and
Texas, the first commercial-scale injection of CO2 its deployment mechanism in India” has estimated the
for EOR was started in 1972. Since then, CO2 - EOR storage potential of various basins. So far, 26 sedimen-
has been an established technology in the US and its tary basins have been identified and these basins are
contribution in oil recovery has been growing since further classifiedinto 3 different categories, viz. category
1980s. Since it is easier to achieve the miscibility condi- 1, category 2, and category 3 basins (DGH, 2021).
tion for CO2 and crude oil system, it is favorable to use
CO2 as injected fluid if the injection pressure to carry out The basins under Category 1 are the producing ones,
the miscible flooding is less than the fracture pressure of where commercial oil and gas exploration and produc-
the formation. Miscibility depends upon the combination tion have been going on. The basin data are available
of crude oil, gas composition, reservoir pressure and online as several companies have already undergone

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 74 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 exploration of those basins. These exploration data injection pressure. Theoretically, sequestration has
are compiled online and sequestration potential can be three components, namely:
estimated
gas at the by injection
selecting pressure.
a suitableTheoretically,
recovery factor u• The The remaining
dissolutionfree
of CO 2 in crude
space, oil.by the dis place
followed
forsequestration
EOR purposes. The sequestration
has three components, namely: potential of ment of oil by CO .
2
different oil injection
fields canpressure.
gas• atThetheremaining freebe evaluated
space, followedbased on the • uThe
Theoretically,
by the The dissolution
theoretical
The dissolutionofofCO 2 in incrude
sequestration
CO 2
oil. water.
potential�
formation ��� , is
dissolving
sequestration capacities
has three of the fluids
components, within the reser-
displacement of oil by CO2. namely: given by,
u The dissolution of CO in crude oil.
•voir andremaining
the displacement efficiency of the
by gas
the at the The
2
•TheThe dissolution free space,
of CO followed
2 in formation water. Thetheoretical
theoretical sequestration potential���� , isisgiven by,
sequestration potential
displacement of oil by CO2. given by,
• The���
dissolution
�
� � of CO 2 in
�������������������formation
� � water.
���������������� � ����������������
��������������������� � ���� ∗ �∗ ������������������� � ���������������� � ��������������� ��
����� � �������������������� � ����������������� � ����������������
���������������� � � �� ∗ ���� ∗ ������������������� ∗ �� � �� � ∗ �����������������
��������������������� � �
������������������� � � �� ���∗∗��∗ ������������������� � ���������������� � ��������������� ��
��� ∗ ����� � ���������������� � ��������������� �
����������������� � � �� ∗ ����∗ ������������������� ∗ �� � �� � ∗ �����������������
The� total theoretical storage∗ �����
capacity� �� for EOR is � offshore basins � have the highest CO2- EOR sequestra-
The total theoretical
������������������ � � �storage
� ∗ ���� capacity for EOR is
�������������� Mumbai offshore
��������������� basins have the highest CO2-
predicted to be 3.4 Gt. Among all the basins, Mumbai tion potential (Table 2).
predicted to be 3.4 Gt. Among all the basins, EOR sequestration potential (Table 2).
The total theoretical storage capacity for EOR is Mumbai offshore basins have the highest CO2-
Table 2 Estimates of CO2 - EOR storage capacity and arial extent of Category 1 basins.
predicted to Table
be 3.4 Gt. Among
2 Estimates all 2the
of CO -EORbasins, EORand
storage capacity sequestration
arial extentpotential (Table
of Category 2).
1 basins.
Proven Potential Storage Capacity
Basin (Category
Table 1)
2 Estimates Total Area (kmcapacity
2
)
Basin (Category 1) of CO2-EOR storage
Total Area Proven andPotential
arial(MMTOE)
extent of Storage
CategoryCapacity
1 basins.(Mt CO2)
Krishna-Godavari (km2) 230000 (MMTOE) 9555 (Mt CO2) 659
Basin (Category 1) Total Area Proven Potential Storage Capacity
Mumbai
Krishna-Godavari (km2) 230000
212000 (MMTOE)9555 9646 (Mt CO2)659 1598
Assam Shelf 56000 6002 667
Mumbai
Krishna-Godavari 212000
230000 9646
9555 1598
659
Rajasthan 126000 4125 313
Assam Shelf
Mumbai 56000
212000 6002
9646 667
1598
Cauvery 240000 1963 99
Rajasthan
Assam Shelf
Assam-Arakan 126000
56000
80825 4125
6002 1633 667313 67
Cauvery
Cambay
Rajasthan 240000
53500
126000 1963
4125 2585 31399 657

Assam-Arakan
Cauvery 80825
240000 1633
1963 9967
The outline for identifying the scope of CO2- EOR in ma- u Utilizing and integrating real-time geophysical
Cambay
tureAssam-Arakan
Indian 53500 associated
fields and possible sequestration
80825 2585 67657processing, geo-mechan-
1633 tools like time-lapse
with the injection of CO2 is as under : ics software and rock physics to track the prog-

The Cambay
outline for identifying technology 53500 ofthat
the scope CO2-could 2585 ress of CO2- EOR 657and permanent storage in the
u Design cost-effective • Understand
reservoir. fluid displacement at a
increase the producing life
EOR in mature Indian fields and possible of a reservoir using the microscopic level in the pore spaces by
The unique
outline forability of CO
identifying to
the become
sequestration associated 2 with the injection2- of
scope miscible
of CO at low • u Understand
In the casefluid
analyzing
of pipeline transportation
displacement
the interaction of CO2 with
toa oilfields
at crude
pressure and sequester the anthropogenic CO for EOR, the exit pressure at the carbon capture
EORCO2isin asmature
under: Indian fields and possible microscopic
oil under islevel
reservoirin the pore spaces better
conditions by
based onand
2
for reducing the carbon footprint of the economy. complex determined the transporta-
sequestration associated with the
• Design cost-effective technology that could injection of analyzing
control thein-situ
of
tion distance interaction
andplume ofmovement.
CO2 with
miscibility crude require-
pressure
CO
u 2is as under:
Study
increasethethe operational
producing parameters
life of a for CO2- EOR
reservoir oil under
• Utilizing reservoir
ments in theand conditions
integrating
oil reservoir. and better
real-time
• Designin specified reservoir and find that out the effective
usingcost-effective
the unique abilitytechnology
of CO2 to could become control of in-situ plume
geophysical tools movement.
like time-lapse
production strategy schemes and ascertain Apart from EOR, the storage of CO2 in the saline aqui-
increase
miscible theatproducing
low pressure life and
of asequester
reservoirthe • ferUtilizing
processing,
has garnered andthe integrating
geo-mechanics
attention real-time
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of the and as
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the key parameter that could help in increasing
using the
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anthropogenicfrom thatability
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2 for reducing 2 to become
the carbon geophysical
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potential 2-
miscible
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economy. and sequester the processing,
Table EOR
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andthe permanent
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u Understand fluid displacement at carbon
a microscop-
• anthropogenic
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ic levelthe
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reducing
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by analyzing
physics
methods
reservoir. to track
based on thethe parameters
progress of for COsuccessful
2-
footprint of the economy. geological storage.
EOR in specified
interaction of CO2 reservoir
with crude and oilfind
underoutreservoir
the • EOR In theandcasepermanent
of pipelinestorage in the to
transportation
• Study the
effective operational
production parameters
strategy
conditions and better control of in-situ plume for
schemes CO 2 -
and reservoir.
oilfields for EOR, the exit pressure at the
EOR in specified
ascertain
movement. the key reservoir
parameter andthatfindcould
out the
help • In carbon
the casecapture
of pipelinecomplex transportation
is determined to
effective production
in increasing strategy
recovery from thatschemes
field. and oilfields
based foron EOR, the exit pressure
the transportation at theand
distance
MGMI ascertain the keyVol.
News Journal, parameter
48, No. 3 that
& 4 could help 75 carbon capture
October complex
- December 2022 is determined
& January - March, 2023
in increasing recovery from that field. based on the transportation distance and
 Table 3 : Saline Aquifer and CO2- EOR sequestration analysis

Parameters Storage Aquifer EOR purposes

Operations Injection Injection, production and recycle
Type of land Greenfield Brownfield (can be Retrofitted for handling CO2)
Solubility Weak in saline water High in reservoir Oil
Revenue generation No Yes, can offset the capture cost
Pressure build-up Large area for pressure to dissipate Aim is to manage reservoir pressure
Subsurface knowledge Sparse Known, many wells are already drilled in the pay
zone
Public perception Not much surveyed Fair, familiar with CO2-EOR method

To estimate the CO2 storage capacity of a saline aqui- saline aquifers (Table 4). Deep saline aquifers have
fer, the volume of formation and appropriate storage enormous storage capacity, hence further research
efficiency factor are being taken. The efficiency factor and test pilots are needed to be conducted to utilize the
takes into account the nature of the lithology, volumetric potential sink. Roadmap for India for successful
and microscopic displacement efficiency. It has been Carbon capture and its utilization via EOR and subsequent
estimated that 291.1 Gt. CO2 can be stored in deep sequestration is reported in Table 5.

Table 4: Sequestration potential of the deep saline aquifer (IEA, GHG, 2008)

Category Basin Capacity (Gt.)

Category 1 Krishna–Godavari 13.39
Mumbai offshore 9.26
Assam Shelf 14.16
Rajasthan 7.34
Cauvery 16.08
Assam-Arakan fold belt 32.3
Cambay 16.13
Saurashtra 39.74
Kutch 15.6
Category 2 Vindhyan 11.81
Mahanadi–NEC (North East Coast) 3.25
Andaman–Nicobar 12.35
Kerala–Konkan–Lakshadweep 25.33
Bengal-Purnea 51.58
Ganga–Punjab -
Pranhita–Godavari 6.14
Satpura–South Rewa–Damodar 1.87
Himalayan Foreland -
Chhattisgarh 0.11

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 76 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Category 3 Narmada -
Spiti–Zanskar -
Deccan Syncline -
Cuddapah 14.24
Karewa -
Bhima–Kaladgi 0.41
Bastar -
Total 291.09
Table 5: Roadmap for India for successful Carbon capture and its utilization via EOR and subsequent sequestration

Policy and Regulatory u Private finance promotion to deploy CCS at the earliest
Framework
u Comprehensive laws, regulations &guidelines in place to support R&D
u Finance gateway to upgrade existing power plants to be CCS ready
u Govt. support in developing CO2 transport infrastructure
u Awareness among the public and various stakeholders
u Giving subsidy for CO2 storage in the formation
Identification of suitable CO2 u Site characterization based on Geological, Petrophysical and Hydrogeologi-
Storage cal conditions.
u Risk assessment of leakage
u Field Exploration with emphasis on CO2 storage
u Past production data utilized to map the sequestration potential
u Implementation of policies encouraging storage exploration, characterization,
and development for CCS projects.
u Implementation of governance frameworks ensuring safe and effective
storage.
Cost reduction of capture u Electricity cost reduction
technologies
u Invest in the Gasification sector as capture cost is lowest in the field
u Pilot scale CO2 capture system demonstration
u Collaboration with advanced nations to bring in the latest capture technologies
Development of CO2 Transport u Creation of a regional hub and cluster to connect and streamline the nodal
Infrastructure points
u Stakeholders’ role such as emitters, aggregators, hub supervisor, disposer
needs to be defined and work in tandem.

Investment and Financing Mechanism capture technologies in place, and alternative path-
ways to cut emissions. Government support for the oil
It is apparent that the private players won’t risk their
industry is key to offset the associated risks and costs
capital and invest in sequestration projects as the associated with CCUS projects. India can gain better
uncertainty surrounding the various operational param- insight and devise its policy framework by incorporat-
eters is too high. There have been instances worldwide ing policy mechanisms from different countries. Table
where govt. is playing a proactive role in a creative 6 shows the lists of some practices followed worldwide
conducive environment. A policy framework is (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in
unique to every economy as it is largely driven by the India from a Cameo to Supporting Role in the Nation’s
domestic energy requirement, emission targets, carbon Low-Carbon Story Centre for Energy Finance, 2021).

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 77 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Table 6 : Best practices around the globe for promoting CCUS projects

Country Enablers Key points

USA 45Q Provide a tax credit for each tonne of CO2 used for EOR,
considerably reducing the tax obligation

California Low Carbon Fuel Stan- Permit the use of credits for transportation fuels whose life-
dard (LCFS) cycle emissions have been reduced via CCUS. Credits are
generated through project-based crediting for initiatives that
reduce emissions to an acceptable level.
State’s primacy States are approved to take responsibility for regulating
CO2 injection

SCALE Act Promote CO2 transportation network and provide grants for
various geological CO2 storage
EU EU Innovation fund Allocates fund for promoting low-carbon technologies
Horizon Europe Supports R&D for CCUS-related projects
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Helps Cross-border CO2 transportation

Canada Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Federal Fuel Charge

Act (GGPPA)
The fuel tax is levied on fuels producedat the authorized
distributor level because they are among the first players in
the supply chain.
Output Based Pricing System (OBPS)
Each industry has a defined level of carbon emission. Plants
or facilities that emit more than the limit will be penalized for
the extra emissions on a per-tonne CO2 basis.
UK CCS Infrastructure fund Aim to develop four CCS hubs and cluster projects across
UK with a motive to reach net zeroby 2050. Additionally
USD 0.2 billion has beenannounced for CCUS under UK
10-point plan

India might choose from the following strategies to is fully established in India, India can switch to Carbon
sculpt its future policy framework. Carbon credit and tax-based policy to reach the target of net zero by 2070.
carbon tax-based policies can help India reduce CO2 Risk can be mitigated by reducing the liabilities of the
emissions levels and sustain the economic growth rate participants across the value chain of the carbon path-
amid the climate change uproar. Since the CCUS is ways. India has to find the geographical area where a
still in the nascent stage in India, it is high time for the capture cluster can be formed and well-laid transporta-
government to incentivize the adoption of CCUS tech- tion infrastructure can be utilized for large-scale storage
nologies and reduce the capture cost of CO2. A carbon of CO2. The timeline of Central policies pertaining to re-
credit-based policy is suitable to upgrade the existing ducing CO2 emission and enhancing energy capabilities
industrial assets to low emissions assets. Once CCUS is depicted in Figure 4.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 78 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 4 : Timeline of Central policies to reduce CO2 emission and enhance energy capabilities
Indian companies have geared themselves to find successful decarbonization of the energy sector. Table
avenues in the field of CCUS, collaborating with 7 shows the list of MoUs signed by Indian companies
international players to employ the best practices for the along with the primary objective of the cooperation.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 79 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Table 7 : MoUs signed by major Indian companies to explore the avenues of CO2-EOR.

Firms MoU Date Collaboration field

u ONGC 01/07/2019 Use CO2 captured from the IOCL Koyali refinery forEOR
from the ONGC Gandhar fieldto sequester 5 to 6 million
u Indian Oil Corporation Limited
tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2040. (Market, 2019)
(IOCL)
u ONGC 06/02/2020 Use captured carbon dioxide from our Ahmedabad waste-
to-energy plant for EOR (Abellon, 2020).
u Abellon
u Indian Oil Corp. 15/01/2021 Conduct design and feasibility studies for an industrial
CCUS project at the 13.7 million tonnes annual capacity
u Dastur International (US)
Koyali refinery in Gujarat(HP, 2021).
u ONGC 02/12/2021 Collaborate and cooperate for undertaking renewable
energy projects including solar, wind, solar parks, EV value
u SECI
chain, green hydrogen, storage, etc.(pib.gov.in, 2021)
u ONGC 26/04/2022 Cooperation and partnership in the upstream, midstream,
downstream, and clean energy sectors, including CCUS
u Equinor ASA (Norway)
(pib.gov.in, 2022).
u ONGC 07/12/2022 Joint CO2 storage study and EOR screening assessment
for key basins in India including depleted oil and gas fields,
u Shell
saline aquifers.(Market, 2022)

Current Challenges of CCUS in India References

Challenges CCUS currently faces in India include : Abellon (2020). MoU with ONGC to use captured carbon
ã Development of cost-effective sorbents that can dioxide for EOR. Available at: https://abelloncleanenergy.
effectively bind to the CO2 present in flue gas or com/carbon-capturing-from-abellon-waste-to-energy-plants-
the atmosphere. to-assist-ongc-for-enhanced-oil-recovery/.

ã Lack of integrated R&D effort from companies, DGH, (2021) Showcasing Indian Sedimentary Basins: Ex-
researchers, environmentalists and policymakers ploration Opportunity for Significant Hydrocarbon Potential,
to devise a viable capture technology and inte- Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum
grate it with the utilization pathways.
& Natural Gas (Government of India), Available at https://on-
ã It is high time to carry out a comprehensive line.dghindia.org/oalp/Files/pdf/Indian-Sedimentary-Basins-
assessment of the storage potential of CO2 Brochure_022421.pdf Fink, J. (2011). Petroleum engineer’s
for various basins and chalk out the screening guide to oil field chemicals and fluids. Chapter: Drilling muds.,
criteria of each formation.
Gulf Professional Publishing.
ã Energy penalty is the biggest issue for a power-
Garg, A., Singh, U., Jain, S. K., Maheshwari, J., Vishwa-
deficient nation like India. To fulfill the domestic
needs for energy supply, India is still dependent nathan, S. S., & Singh, A. K. (2023). International study on
on its imports, and the creation of carbon cap- financing needs for new age critical clean energy technolo-
ture technology can adversely impact the energy gies : CO2 Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), IIM
penalty. Ahmedabad, Available at https://www.iima.ac.in/sites/default/
ã India has to pitch its solution to carbon cap- files/2023-03/1_CCUS%20Report%20%2809-03-2023%29.
ture and its utilization technologies to the global pdf
audience and attract foreign funding.
Hepburn, C., Adlen, E., Beddington, J., Carter, E. A., Fuss, S.,
ã There is a possibility of gas leakage risk lead- Mac Dowell, N., ...& Williams, C. K. (2019). The technologi-
ing to an unimaginable threat to the ecological cal and economic prospects for CO2 utilization and removal.
ecosystem and contamination of groundwater. Nature, 575(7781), 87-97.

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India’s largest carbon capture project. Available at: https://
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capture, utilization, storage. Business Standard India. Avail-
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IEA. (2021). India - Countries & Regions. Available at: https:// tions Framework Convention on Climate Change (3rd August)
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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 81 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 TECHNICAL NOTES
CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF SHALE GAS RESOURCES
IN INDIA
Dheeraj Kumar Yarlagadda1 , Basanta Kumar Prusty1,*, Venkata Yasaswy Turlapati1

1. Introduction

India is a rapidly developing country and is world’s Globally (assessment conducted in 41 countries and
fifth largest economy which is fuelled by increased 137 formations), it was estimated that 3.36 trillion
consumption of energy. As of 2021, more than 80% barrels of oil and 22,882 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas
of this energy demand was met through coal, oil and are technically recoverable from shale formations (EIA,
solid biomass fuels, in the order of usage (IEA,2021). 2013). India can technically recover 96 TCF of shale
Coal is the bedrock of India’s energy economy by gas and 3.8 Billion bbl of shale oil (EIA, 2013). Figure 2
contributing approximately 44% to it. India produces highlights the basins around the world with proven and
approximately 700 million tonnes (Mt) of coal every probable sources of shale oil and gas. In this article,
year. Unlike coal, 75% of oil and 50% of natural gas shale oil and gas reservoirs around the world are dis-
were imported in 2019 by India (IEA, 2021). Figure cussed and the prospective and challenges of Indian
1 shows the rise in energy demand of India with shale gas scenario is discussed in detail. Finally, the
years and as can be seen fossil fuels like coal and pressing issue of climate change and increasing CO2
oil had contributed more over the years and the de- concentrations and its geological storage are also dis-
mand for coal has rather increased due to the lack of cussed.
better sources. While conventional resources like coal,
2. Shale Gas basins in India :
oil, and gas have traditionally been the mainstay of
India's energy mix, there has been a growing inter- Shale formations act as the source and reservoir for
est in unconventional resources in recent years (EIA, unconventional hydrocarbons, specifically natural gas
2011). Unconventional resources like tight gas, shale and oil, which are extracted through vertical and more
gas and coal bed methane (CBM) may present as recently horizontal wells that require hydraulic fractur-
new sources of energy for India and can potentially ing. However, production from these resources are
reduce the country's dependence on imports. limited to shales possessing certain characteristics.
The regulatory body of India has conducted studies with
the help of various national and international agencies to
identify shale gas and oil reserves in the country. From
the collected data of conventional oil and gas explora-
tion, several sedimentary basins are believed to hold
promising reserves for shale gas and oil, including the
Cambay, Gondwana, Krishna-Godavari (KG), Cauvery,
Indo-Gangetic, and Assam & Assam-Arakan basins.
The potential of shale gas resource in these sedimen-
tary basins has been estimated by various agencies, as
mentioned below :
• Schlumberger : In the public domain, gave a shale
gas resource estimate of 300 to 2100 TCF for the
country.
• EIA, 2011 has estimated that in the Cambay, KG,
Damodar and Cauvery basins about 290 TCF of
gas is available.
Figure 1. Energy demand of India (IEA, 2021)

1
Department of Mining Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India.
*Corresponding author: [email protected] (B.K. Prusty)
MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 82 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 2. A map displaying shale oil and shale gas formations that have been assessed as of May 2013 (EIA, 2013)

• EIA in 2013 had revisited the previous data continental clastic sequences from non-marine. These
and gave an update on the above mentioned basin time events led to of maturation of source rocks and
capacities as 87 billion barrels of shale oil and 584 distribution of different clastic reservoir play systems.
TCF of shale gas. Exploration activities in Cambay basin started in 1958.
Since then, total 79 oil and gas play systems had been
• USGS : In January 2011, DoS and MoPNG discovered. Among all these, Ankleshwar oil field was
had jointly analysed Cauvery, KG and Cam- the biggest and most important discovery.
bay basins and had estimated that about 6.1 TCF
of natural gas is available which is technically
recoverable. In their further analysis conducted
in April 2014, they had estimated that 62 mbbl of
oil can be recovered from these basins.
• CMPDI had analysed the sub basins of Bokaro,
Jharia, Raniganj, Sohagpur and North and South
Karanpura and estimated that at least 45 TCF of
gas is available in these basins.
3. Geology of Cambay and KG basin :
Since majority of the resources are reported to be found
in Cambay and KG basins, the detailed geology of these
basins is to be discussed.
Cambay basin :
The Cambay basin located along the west coast of India
is a rift basin. The tectonic evolution of Cambay Basin
can be classified into three stages ; pre-, syn- and post-
rift stages. The main phase initiation belongs from Late
to Early Cretaceous, but it concluded during Paleocene
time (Figure 3). During this time, syn-rift sedimenta- Figure 3. General stratigraphy of Cambay basin (Sivan
tion depository conditions changed to marine, intra- et al., 2008)

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 83 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Krishna Godavari Basin :
Krishna-Godavari is a rifted passive margin basin (DGH, 2012). Raghavpuram shale is exposed at the
(Figure 4). The KG basin contains four petroleum north eastern margin of the basin and is of Cretaceous
systems. The age of the sedimentary formations varies age (Mani, et. al., 2016). Raghavpuram shale is mainly
in the basin from late Carboniferous to Holocene and carbonaceous shale with lenticular sands and are con-
the formations are almost 5 Km thick. sidered to be the main source rock for R-G-T-R sys-
Raghavpuram shale is a part of Raghavpuram – Go- tem. Reported thickness of this shale is 1100 m (DGH,
lapalli – Tirupati - Razole (R-G-T-R) petroleum system 2012).

Figure 4. Krishna - Godavari basin with the location of Raghavpuram (Mani, et. al., 2016)

4. Extraction methodology and challenges : US like Eagle Ford. In 2014, various shale reservoirs
Geoscientists and engineers' proficiency, along with located in the United States were producing approxi-
completion of engineers' resourcefulness and field tests mately 3.5 million barrels of new oil per day.
that were conducted in the late 20th century, are recog- Shale is a type of mudstone containing silt-sized
nized as the key factors behind the capability to extract particles ranging from 4 to 60 µm, clay-sized particles
gas and oil from nano-Darcy shale formation. During the that are smaller than 4 µm and also mineral fragments.
late 1990s, Mitchell Energy attained gas production that In addition, shale also possess minor percentages of
was commercially viable from Barnett shale, which was organic content. The organic content upon subjection
made possible by replacing polymer gel fracking fluids to stress and high temperature slowly gets converted
with slickwater for hydraulic fracturing. Then, in the year into hydrocarbon components. This conversion thereby
2006, company called EOG Resources, increased its increases the internal hydrostatic pressure, forming
oil production from Bakken formation by implement- new micro fracture pores. Shale has pores that can
ing multistage hydraulic fracturing with slickwater. This vary in size from less than 1 nanometer to as much
success was replicated in prominent shale plays of the as 1 micron. The presence of nanopores can result in

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 84 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
significant capillary pressures that can impact the 4.1. Challenges due to fracking :
critical pressure and temperature of hydrocarbon
Despite significant advancements in fracking for shale
components, alter the phase envelope of the fluids
gas extraction, certain concerns have arisen regard-
present, and trigger capillary condensation and gas
ing potential issues. These primary concerns include
molecule slippage against the pore walls. This type of
ground water contamination, fugitive emissions through
flow is known as Knudsen flow. The flow of fluids from
leaks, induced seismic activity in the surrounding area,
the matrix to micro and macro fractures is mainly depen-
and public perception. The main concern regarding
dent on molecular diffusion, as the low permeability of
fracking fluid involves its procurement and disposal.
the matrix leads to minimal Darcy flow. Shale reservoirs
When the fluid is brought back to the surface of the well,
are classified based on the relationship between the
which occurs between 40% to 80% of the time, it can
hydrocarbon source and the reservoir rock fabric,
contain chemicals that are dangerous and concerning
resulting in three categories. These categories are self-
to both human health and the environment (Hammond
sourced, where the source is an integral part of the
and O'Grady, 2017). Therefore, proper management of
reservoir rock formation; locally sourced, where the
disposal is critical. Poor well integrity or improper waste
source is adjacent to the reservoir rock
disposal can lead to leaks, reducing water quality in the
formation; and externally sourced, where
surrounding areas. However, effective regulation of the
the source is located far from the reservoir
process and proper waste management programs can
formation and requires significant hydrocarbon
address these issues (Hammond and O'Grady, 2017).
migration (Tepper et al., 2013). Self-sourcing is the main
differentiating factor between low-permeability shale Shale gas extraction through fracking has raised
reservoirs and low-permeability sandstone reservoirs concerns regarding its possible contribution to increased
that are externally sourced. seismic activity (Sovacool, 2014). There are two types
of seismic events associated with fracking : micro
The low permeability and porosity are defining charac-
seismic events and large seismic events (Royal soci-
teristics of shale reservoirs. These reservoirs typically
ety, 2012). Micro seismic events are a routine result of
display a matrix permeability ranging from 10-5 to 10-2
hydraulic fracturing and occur due to fracture propaga-
mD and a porosity that is below 10%. Due to these un-
tion. Large seismic events occur when there is a fault,
favourable properties, shale reservoirs require stimu-
these type events are a little rare. In 2011, an explor-
lation to achieve commercial oil and gas production.
atory drilling well in Black pool, UK caused two seismic
The ability to extract oil and gas from the tight shale
tremors, which resulted in public panic, concern and re-
matrix has been made possible through the creation of
sulted in short-term suspension on shale gas extraction
a new technology known as multistage hydraulic frac-
in the country (Hammond and O'Grady, 2017). It was
turing. Hydraulic fracturing of shale involves the use
analysed through an investigation that these events
of slick water, a mixture primarily composed of water
occurred due to the reactivation of pre-stressed faults.
(98-99.5%), with dissolved salts and various chemi-
cals. These chemicals include friction reducing agents, 5. Enhanced shale gas recovery :
acids to remove formation damage, proppants, scale The challenges associated with fracking discussed ear-
and corrosion inhibitors and biocides. This process lier present a significant obstacle to the wide spread
creates localized stresses, which further cause the adoption of shale gas. However, a major hurdle is the
shale matrix to fracture into smaller fissures, resulting in low recovery rates typically achieved, with recovery
enhanced oil and gas flow. factors usually falling below 30% within a few years of
To efficiently access the pores of the reservoir, use of initial production from a shale reservoir (EIA, 2013).
horizontal wells are drilled. These wells are elongated Enhanced extraction methods help in improving the re-
and parallel in direction of minimum horizontal stress covery percentage and achieve an economically viable
within the formation. Once the well is drilled, well com- production rate (Eshkalak et al., 2014). In shale, natural
pletion engineers then create numerous transverse gas (primarily methane) is adsorbed. Enhanced gas re-
hydraulic fractures at different targeted locations of the covery through CO2 injection is a promising technique
well to stimulate the drainage volume. that utilizes the preferential adsorption of CO2 on shale
over CH4, potentially resulting in greater displacement
The production of hydrocarbons from unconventional
of CH4 and enhanced recovery. This method also offers
reservoirs is restricted to a small area around each well
benefits such as low CO2 leakage due to adsorption,
due to the low permeability of the formation and lim-
reservoir pressure maintenance, and the possibility of
ited well interference. However, increasing the density
using shale formations for CO2 sequestration (Xu et al.,
of wells can improve the interwell drainage, leading to
2017).
higher recovery.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 85 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Many studies use historic methane production rates it offer in terms of energy security and environmental
as a common approach, including Tao and Clarens sustainability make it a promising solution for the future
(2013), and their results predict that between 2013 and of shale gas production in India.
2030, the shale can store CO2 in the range of 10.4 Gt
References :
to 18.4 Gt. The study showed that CO2 adsorbs more
rapidly than CH4 desorbs, indicating that injection wells 1. International Energy Agency, ‘India energy outlook –
only need to operate for about two years, resulting 2021’, report, International Energy Agency, 2021
in significant cost savings compared to the ten years
2. EIA, “Review of emerging resources: U.S. gas and shale
required for production wells. Edwards et al. (2015) oil plays,” report, EIA, 2011.
had similar discoveries. They also determined that the
Marcellus shales have a capacity to store approxim- 3. EIA, “Technically recoverable shale oil and shale gas re-
ately 7,200 to 9,600 Mt of CO2 and Barnett shales have sources: An assessment of 137 shale formations in 41
2,100 to 3,100 Mt. of CO2 storage capacity. countries outside the United States,” report, U.S. Energy
Information Administration, 2013.
The current focus of research on enhanced shale gas
recovery involves modelling. However, a recent study 4. Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH), 2012.
was conducted where approximately 500 tons of CO2 Retrieved from www.dghindia.org.
were injected into the Chattanooga shale reservoir 5. Mani D, Ratnam B, Kalpana M S, Patil D J, Dayal A M.
formation located in Tennessee. The study showed Elemental and organic geochemistry of Gondwana sedi-
there is a significant increase in CH4 recovery when ments from the Krishna-Godavari basin, India. Chemie
compared to previous production data. Even though der Erde, vol. 76, pp. 117-131, 2016.
initially the produced gas contained some CO2, this
proportion kept declining over the period of time since 6. Tepper B, Baechle G, Keller J, Walsh R. Petrophysical
the test, and the gas has a higher proportion of natural evaluation of shale oil and gas opportunities in emerging
gas liquids. This study demonstrates the potential for plays; some examples and learning’s from the Americas.
CO2 enhanced recovery to improve natural gas recov- IPTC 16926, IPTC;26–28 March 2013; Beijing, China;
ery and provide secure and permanent CO2 sequestra- 2013. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson.
tion. Nevertheless, a better understanding of observed 7. Hammond, G.P. and O'Grady, A. “Indicative energy tech-
behaviours, particularly in relation to adsorption, could nology assessment of UK shale gas extraction,” Applied
significantly improve the design of this process. Energy, vol. 185, Part 2, pp. 1907-1918, 2017.
Such operations for shale gas basins in India are not 8. Sovacool, B.K. “Cornucopia or curse? Reviewing the
conducted and can be attempted. Cambay basin shale costs and benefits of shale gas hydraulic fracturing (frack-
has proven reserves. Apart from that, even Assam- ing),” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
Arakan basin shales have the potential of producing vol. 37, pp. 249-264, 2014.
natural gas. Using CO2 enhancing shale gas producing
techniques might be of advantage to an energy import- 9. Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, “Shale
ing county like India. gas extraction in the UK : a review of hydraulic fracturing,”
report, 2012.
6. Conclusion :
10. Eshkalak, M.O., Al-shalabi, E.W., Sanaei, A. Aybar, U.,
In conclusion, shale gas exploration in India has the and Sepehrnoori,K. “Enhanced gas recovery by CO2
potential to provide a significant source of energy for sequestration versus re-fracturing treatment in unconven-
the country. However, there are several concerns tional shale gas reservoirs,” 2014.
regarding the environmental impact of hydraulic fractur-
ing and the low recovery rates of shale gas reservoirs. The 11. Xu, R., Zeng, K, Zhang, C. and Jiang, P., “Assessing the
application of enhanced shale gas recovery techniques, feasibility and CO2 storage capacity of CO2 enhanced
such as CO2 - enhanced recovery, can significantly shale gasrecovery using Triple-Porosity reservoir model,”
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injection of CO2 into shale gas reservoirs can provide a 12. Sivan, P., Datta, G. C., & Singh, R. R. (2008). Aromatic bio-
solution to the issue of climate change by permanently markers as indicators of source, depositional environment,
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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 86 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Technical notes

NATURAL GAS : THE IMPORTANT ENERGY RESOURCE

G P Karmakar1

Introduction
India is the third-largest energy consumer in the Consumption of Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Petroleum
world, following China and the USA, and is also the Products
fastest - growing energy consumer. Its energy
In the fiscal year 2020 - 21, the consumption of gas in
requirements are primarily met by coal, oil, natural
the country amounted to 60.64 BCM, indicating a 5.5%
gas, and renewable energy sources. Hydrocarbons
decline from the previous year's consumption of 64.14
account for more than one-third of the energy required,
BCM in 2019 - 20. The overall consumption of petro-
making oil and gas critical components of India's ener-
leum products in the same period was 194.30 MMT,
gy mix. The use of natural gas as a fuel and feedstock
showing a negative growth rate of 9.3% as compared to
has been steadily increasing across the country and
the previous year's consumption of 214.13 MMT, which
is expected to account for 15% of the primary energy
was primarily due to the reduced demand for petroleum
mix by 2030, up from 6.7%. The oil and gas sector
products due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Diesel was
is a significant contributor to India's imports, with im-
the most consumed petroleum product during the year,
ports of oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural
accounting for 37.9% of the total consumption, followed
gas totalling Rs. 5,23,059 crores, or 21.45% of India's
by Petrol/Gasoline (14.4%), Liquefied Petroleum Gas
overall imports of Rs. 29,09,937 crores in 2020-21.
(LPG) (14.2%), Naphtha (7.3%), Kerosene (0.9%),
Production and Consumption of Crude Oil, Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) (1.9%), Fuel Oil (2.9%),
Natural Gas and Petroleum Products Lubes and Greases (2.1), Bitumen (3.9%), and Petro-
leum Coke (8.0%).
Production of Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Petroleum
Products Refining Capacity and Refinery Crude Throughput
In 2020-21, India's crude oil production was 30.49 With a refining capacity of 249.22 Million Metric Tonnes
million metric tonnes (MMT), which reduced from per Annum (MMTPA) as of 1st April 2021, India is the
the 32.17 MMT produced in 2019-20. The Oil and fourth largest refiner globally and the second largest
Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was responsible for in Asia, trailing behind only China. Despite exceeding
producing the majority of this amount, with 20.18 MMT demand, the country's refineries operated at 88.8%
(66.2%) of the total production. Oil India Limited (OIL) capacity in the 2020-21 fiscal year. However, crude oil
produced 2.94 MMT (9.6%) of the crude, and the processing decreased from 254.39 MMT in 2019-20
remaining 7.37 MMT (24.2%) was produced by other to 221.77 MMT in 2020-21, largely due to decreased
government and private oil companies. product demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and
the consequent lockdown in India that lasted several
During the 2020-21 period, natural gas production
months.
in India was 28.67 billion cubic meters (BCM), which
decreased from the 31.18 BCM produced in 2019-20. Import of Crude Oil and Natural Gas
The majority of the natural gas production came from
In the 2020-21 fiscal year, India imported 196.46 MMT
the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which
of crude oil worth Rs. 4,59,771 crores, which is 13.4%
produced 21.87 BCM (76.3%) of the total. Oil India
lower in quantity and 35.9% lower in value compared
Limited (OIL) contributed 2.48 BCM (8.6%) to the
to the 254.39 MMT worth Rs. 7,17,001 crores import-
production, while the remaining 4.32 BCM (15.1%)
ed in 2019-20. However, during the period of April to
came from other government and private companies,
November 2021, crude oil imports increased to 136.89
including Coal Bed Methane production.
MMT valued at Rs. 5,32,193 crores, marking an 11.4%

1
Former Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 87 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
increase in quantity and a 119.9% increase in value The nonhydrocarbons tend to be less valuable. How-
compared to the corresponding period of the previous ever, depending upon the market situation, hydrogen
year. sulphide has some value as a precursor to sulphur.
Sulphur in turn has several applications, the most
India imported 24.80 MMT of natural gas (LNG) worth
important of which is probably the production of chemi-
Rs. 54,850 crores in the 2020-21 fiscal year, which
cal fertilizer. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen have no
is 3% lower in quantity and 18.6% lower in value
heating value and thus they are considered as the
compared to the 25.57 MMT worth Rs. 67,383 crores
diluting components in fuels.
imported in 2019-20. The majority of the natural gas is
sourced from the Middle East region through the Strait Presence of significant amounts of sulphur compounds
of Hormuz. In 2020-21, India's oil and oil equivalent gas including hydrogen sulphide, is called as “sour” gas.
import dependence was 77.6%. Whereas, natural gas with as negligible amounts of
sulphur compounds is known “sweet gas”. Hydro-
Import and Export of Petroleum Products
gen sulphide is a toxic gas, and carbon dioxide is
The import of petroleum products during 2020-21 was nontoxic. Pipeline specification needs less than 4 ppm
43.25 MMT valued at Rs.1,09,430 crores against the of H2S in the natural gas transmission through pipelines.
import of 43.79 MMT valued at Rs.1,25,742 crore in Furthermore, hydrogen sulphide has an obnoxious
2019-20 which is lower by 1.2% in quantity terms and odour, whereas carbon dioxide is odourless.
13% in value terms vis-a-vis 2019-20. Exports of petro-
Various Forms of Natural Gas
leum products during 2020-21 was 56.77 MMT valued
at Rs. 1,57,168 crores, which showed an increase of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
7.51% in quantity terms and 5.11% decrease in value
When transporting natural gas in containers, the
terms against the exports of 65.69 MMT valued at Rs.
pressure used depends on the composition of the gas.
2,54,018 crores during 2019-20.
For a gas containing a considerable amount of ethane,
Composition of Natural Gas propane, and other compounds, the pressure is
maintained at 127 Kg/cm2. On the other hand, for lean
Natural gas is mainly a mixture of hydrocarbons along
gas that primarily consists of methane, the pressure
with few nonhydrocarbons where methane, ethane,
is nearly doubled to 253 Kg/cm2. This compressed
propane, etc. are the hydrocarbon components and
natural gas is an alternative to gasoline or diesel
hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc.,
in some countries for vehicular transport. At filling
and water are the nonhydrocarbon components. The
stations, pipeline gas is supplied using compressors
amount of energy that is obtained from the burning of
to reach 211Kg/cm2 before dispensing. CNG has a
a volume of natural gas is measured in British Thermal
high auto - ignition temperature of 540oC. When the
Units (BTU). The value of natural gas is calculated by
concentration of CNG in the air is below 5% or above
its BTU content. Higher the number of carbon atoms
15%, it will not burn. This makes accidental ignition or
in a gas molecule, higher is the heating value of the
combustion very rare for CNG.
hydrocarbon. Typical composition of natural gas is
shown in Table 1. Piped Natural Gas (PNG)
Table 1. Typical Composition of Natural Gas It consists of mainly methane and transported /
distributed through mild steel and polyethylene pipe-
Name Formula Volume% lines to cater to the domestic, commercial and industrial
Methane CH4 >85 customers.
Ethane C2H6 3–8 Natural gas supplied to households through piped
connections is known as Domestic PNG. This
Propane C3H8 1–2 eco-friendly and inexpensive facility which eliminates
Butane C4H10 <1 the problems associated with conventional fuels but
also protects the environment. The Petroleum and
Pentane C5H12 <1 Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Government of India
Carbon dioxide CO2 1–2 has specific operational procedure which are followed
Hydrogen sulphide H2S <1 by the distributors of PNG.

Nitrogen N2 1–5 Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)

Helium He <0.5 LPG is a mixture of propane and butane, which are

liquefied under pressure in different ratios based on

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 88 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
factors such as climate and the availability of the reduced to a volume approximately 1/600 of the gas
constituent gases in a particular country. LPG can be at room temperature using cryogenic processes.
stored in two ways: under low temperature-normal pres- Special refrigerated tankers are used for transporting the
sure conditions (with propane having a boiling point of liquefied natural gas. A large tanker can carry 1,35,000
-42°C and butane having a boiling point of -0.5°C) or m3 of liquefied natural gas, equivalent to 2.86 billion
under normal temperature-high pressure conditions standard cubic feet of natural gas. Large cryogenic stor-
(with propane having a vapour pressure of 7.54 Kg/ age tanks are used to store the LNG. Typical size of such
cm2 at 20°C and butane having a vapour pressure of storage tanks is 70 m in diameter, 45 m high, and can
1.14 Kg/cm2 at 20°C). Domestic LPG cylinders typically hold over 1,00,000 m3 of LNG. After rega sification
contain 14.2 Kg of LPG (with an empty cylinder weight near the port, natural gas is supplied to the consumers
of 15.3 Kg) and have a pressure cap of up to 16.9 kg/ through pipelines.
cm2. Commercial LPG cylinders, on the other hand, are
available in varying LPG content ranging from 19 Kg to Natural Gas Liquids (NGL)
47 Kg of LPG depending on their applications.
Natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butanes,
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and pentanes and higher molecular weight hydrocar-
bons (C5+). The higher molecular weight hydrocarbons
Liquefied natural gas is the liquid form of natural
gas which is cooled to approximately −162OC and product is commonly referred to as natural gasoline.

Fig.1. Schematic Diagram for Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources.
(Adapted from United States Geological Survey Factsheet 0113-01)
Use of Natural Gas ing nations increase their infrastructure energy needs,
transportation is expected to account for only 57% of
Natural gas is used as fuels as well as feedstocks for
world oil consumption.
petrochemicals production. Domestic uses of natural
gas fuel are mainly for heating and cooking for house- Heating and Energy Production. Distillate oils and
holds as well as for restaurants. Commercial uses of residual oils provide fuel to heat homes and busi-
natural gas are mainly for power generation and fuel for nesses, as well as to generate electricity and provide
motor vehicles. power for manufacturing. Heating and energy production
accounts for about 26% of refined petroleum use.
Transportation fuel. Oil products, specifically gasoline,
diesel, and jet fuel, account for 95% of the transporta- Petrochemicals and Raw Materials. Of the remaining oil
tion fuel throughout the world. Presently, as develop- product use, approximately 13% of refined petroleum is

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 89 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
used for raw materials in manufacturing. Most of these seam may increase coal gas recovery because carbon
become petrochemicals, used in manufacturing thou- dioxide preferentially displaces methane in the coal
sands of products, including cosmetics, detergents, matrix. CBM production by carbon dioxide sequestra-
drugs, fertilizers, insecticides, plastics, synthetic fibres, tion helps in the reduction in the amount of carbon diox-
and hundreds of other products. ide emission into the atmosphere.
Therefore, it is likely that the first quarter of the 21st- Gas Hydrates
century will see our most intensive dependency on oil
as a fuel and materials source. This dependency will The entrapment of natural gas molecules in an ice - like
increase sharply during the first two decades as devel- crystalline form of water at very low temperatures forms
oping nations grow towards parity with industrialized an ice - like solid called a gas hydrate. For gas hydrates,
nations in economies and fuel/power needs, essentially hydrogen - bonded water molecules form a cage - like
doubling the world consumption of oil between 1999 structure around low molecular weight gas molecules
and 2020. such as methane, ethane, and carbon dioxide. It has
been reported that 1 m3 of gas hydrate contains 164.6
Unconventional Sources of Natural Gas
m3 of methane. One barrel of gas hydrate containing
Conventional and unconventional oil and gas may be 924 ft3 of methane is approximately six times as much
characterised based on the formation characteristics gas as the gas contained in an unimpeded gas - filled
and their production methods. Conventional oil and pores. The gas in gas hydrates occupies approxi-
gas resources as formations that can produce at eco- mately 20% of the volume of the gas hydrate complex
nomic flow rates or that can produce economic volumes with 80% water. Gas hydrates are naturally present in
of oil and gas without stimulation treatments or special arctic sands, marine sands, and non-sandstone marine
recovery processes and technologies. Unconventional reservoirs. In marine sediments on continental margins
oil and gas, generally, cannot be produced at economic and below about 600 ft in permafrost regions the gas
flow rates without special recovery technologies without hydrates are formed. Approximately 99% of gas
hydrofracturing or other advanced treatments. hydrates occurs in marine sediments in the continen-
tal margins with approximately 680,000 trillion ft3 of
Coal Bed Methane
methane.
Gas recovered from coalbeds is known as Coal Bed
Tight Gas Sands, Shale Gas, and Shale Oil
Methane (CBM). CBM can be present as liberated gas
in the fracture system or as a monomolecular layer on Low - permeability hydrocarbon resources include tight
the internal surface of the coal matrix. The composition gas sands and shale. The permeability of tight gas
of CBM is predominately methane but ethane, carbon sand is on the order of micro-Darcies (1 micro-Darcy is
dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen may also be present 1 thousandth of a milli - Darcy), while the permeability of
in small concentrations. Gas content in CBM can range shale is on the order of nano - Darcies (1 nano - Darcy
from approximately 20 standard cubic feet (SCF) gas is 1 millionth of a milli - Darcy).
per ton of coal to 600 SCF per ton. Coal seam methane,
With the development of directional drilling and
coal mine methane, and abandoned mine methane are
hydraulic fracturing technology, economic production of
the other terms used for gas from coalbeds. Flow in the
hydrocarbons from shale or tight sand became popular.
fractures is typically Darcy flow which implies that flow
Directional drilling is carried out in the wells at angles
rate between two points is proportional to the change
that are not vertically downward. Hydraulic fractur-
in pressure between the points. The fluid flowing
ing is the creation of fractures in rock by injecting a
capacity of a porous medium is known as permeabil-
water-based mixture sand and chemicals into a forma-
ity, and measured in Darcy or milli-Darcy. Typical val-
tion at a pressure that exceeds the fracture pressure of
ues range from 1 millidarcy = 1 md (or 1.0 × 10−15
the formation. The orientation and the fracture length
m2) to 1 Darcy = 1 D = 1000 md (or 1.0 × 10−12 m2)
of the induced fracture depends on formation thickness
for conventional oil and gas reservoirs. In coal cleats
and stress. Once fractures have been created in the
typically the permeability values range from 0.1 to 50
formation, a proppant such as manmade pellets or
md. Gas is recovered due to desorption of gas from
coarse grain sand is injected into the fracture to prevent
the internal surface to the coal matrix and micropores.
it from closing, or healing, when injection pressure is
The gas diffuses through the coal matrix and micro-
removed. The proppant keeps the fractures open
pores into the cleats, and flows through the cleats to the
enough to provide a higher permeability flow path for
production well. Carbon dioxide injection into a coal
fluid to flow to the production well.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 90 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Shales are typically very low porous (typically less than Conclusions
5%) low permeable (typically less than 1,000 nano- Without oil and gas to provide the world’s current fuel,
Darcy), source rocks as well as reservoir rocks with material needs, and economies, we would be forced
rich in organic materials. Production of oil and gas from to return to a level of civilization and infrastructure of
shale is considered unconventional due to the fact that more than a century ago, at least until any suitable
shale functions as both the source rock and the reser- replacement fuels and synthetic products can be devel-
oped. Those replacements are coming, as new meth-
voir. Shale deposits can be found throughout the world
ods of energy production and improved efficiency are in
including in Cambay Basin of India. constant development.
Tar Sands Presently, most of the world’s major auto manufactur-
ers have introduced some sort of fuel cell or hybrid
Tar sands are the sand grains that are cemented
vehicle. As these new sources of transportation fuel are
together by tar or asphalt. Tar and asphalt are high- created, the world will slowly be able to lessen some of
ly viscous solid hydrocarbons. Besides the Rocky its massive hydrocarbon fuel dependency. Due to the
Mountain region of North America, the tar sand economic and logistical issues associated with moving
deposits are found in many parts of the world. Mining is away from traditional gasoline/diesel-fuelled vehicles
carried out to produce tar sands. Where oil shale we are still dependent of fossil fuels in general, and
crude oil and natural gas in specific.
and tar sands are too deep to mine, to increase the
mobility of the hydrocarbons, we have either to increase in Bibliography
permeability or decrease the viscosity of the hydro- Kelkar, M. (2008). Natural Gas Production Engineering.
carbons to increase their mobility. Heating of the low PennWell Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity tar/asphalt Annual Report, 2021-22. (2022). Ministry of Petroleum
can significantly reduce the viscosity. Besides hot wa- and Natural Gas, Government of India.
ter injection, steam injection, electromagnetic heating Carroll, J. (2014). Natural Gas Hydrates. A Guide for
and radio frequency heating may also be carried out to Engineers.Gulf Professional Publishing, USA.
reduce hydrocarbon viscosity. The above heating tech-
Franchi, J. F. and Christiansen, R. L. (2017). Introduc-
niques are being widely used in many parts of the world. tion to Petroleum Engineering. John Wiley & Sons Inc,
Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 91 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Technical Notes

SPREADING “BLUE FLAME REVOLUTION” - MAKING IT A MASS

MOVEMENT
Vilas S Tawde1

Background

Natural gas will play a pivotal role in underpinning the  There is a considerable amount of untapped
world’s fastest - growing major economy as the gov- potential for domestic household biogas produc-
ernment grapples with its energy trilemma - to make its tion in India, and although the number of house-
supply secure, affordable and sustainable. India holds currently using biogas as a fuel is relatively
is moving towards gas-based economy and every low, the efforts of farmers producing biogas must
move to increase gas from any source would bring be recognized, appreciated, and rewarded to in-
“blue flame revolution” which would transform India’s crease their contribution to India's gas-based
energy landscape. People must have universal economy.
access to clean, affordable, sustainable and equitable
supply of energy. And those who make extra efforts Biogas potential
for creating access to supply of cleaner fuel should be Biogas has emerged as a promising renewable tech-
rewarded. nology to convert agricultural, animal, industrial and
India will need to increase its natural gas consump- municipal wastes into energy. Biogas development can
tion by more than three times in next 10 years for the be integrated with strategies to improve sanitation as
environment friendly fuel's share to increase to 15 well as to reduce indoor air pollution and greenhouse
percent in the country's energy basket. The Covid -19 gases. According to the Ministry of New and Renew-
pandemic has expedited the shift in India's energy able Energy (MNRE), Government of India, the total
industry, leading to significant impacts on the biogas production in India as of March 2021 was 5.45
economy. These include the infusion of $140 billion of billion m3/year. Until March 31, 2021, MNRE had been
fresh direct investments in gas over eight years, which executing and endorsing Biogas Schemes to spread
will generate a rise in employment growth rate by up and establish biogas plants in remote, rural, and semi-
to 300 basis points. urban regions of the country. This information can be
found on the MNRE website under the Biogas section
To enhance the supply of gas, attention is being (MNRE, 2022). The New National Biogas and Organic
directed towards various sources given below : Manure Programme (NNBOMP) scheme, which is a
 Increasing domestic production of Conventional central sector scheme, was put into action to estab-
and Unconventional sources, specially CBM lish small Biogas Plants ranging from 1 m3 to 25 m3 in
production from demarcated blocks and Coal size until 31st March 2021. The scheme aimed to offer
Mining blocks. eco - friendly and sustainable gaseous fuel for
cooking, lighting, and small power requirements to
 Shale gas should be on the Map of India, potential farmers, cattle farmers/users and individual
efforts are on but challenges exist for producing at households. Additionally, it aimed to aid in the adminis-
economic costs. tration and utilization of slurry produced by biogas plants
 Gas hydrate is not a viable option in the near as an organic enriched solid biogas fertilizer. For the
future. fiscal year 2020-21, the States/UTs had been assigned
a target of establishing 60,000 small Biogas Plants.
 The expression of interest for 5,000 Bio CNG
plants is receiving an inadequate response, Family - type small biogas systems predominantly exist
indicating that this matter needs to be addressed in the rural areas with capacities ranging from 1 to 10
separately. m3 biogas per day. Animal manure, agriculture waste,
human waste etc. are primarily used as feed stocks

1
Advisor, Unconventional gas

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 92 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
in household biogas digesters, producing biogas and with only 40% of projects being functional and many
bio - slurry that can be used as organic fertilizers. regions having abandoned it as a result (Breitenmoser
Mostly small - scale plants are managed by individual et. al, 2019). While the biogas development program has
households to generate energy for self - consumption. seen the installation of approximately five million family
biogas plants (40%), this falls short of the estimated
The Family - type Bio Gas system is regarded as a
potential of 12 million domestic biogas plants according
potential future energy provider for rural India like
to the MNRE. However, it is crucial to determine the
Rooftop Solar Energy in the country. However,
number of functional biogas plants to truly understand
certain policy measures are necessary to support
the extent of their implementation. It was reported that
diligent rural families, taking into account the socio-
Mason Sonu Nilu Shinde, a resident of Ambe gaon-
economic and environmental aspects of the plant. The
Sutar wadi village, has constructed 300 two-cubic metre
following points are noteworthy in this regard :
biogas plants, which are relatively simple to set up in
one's backyard (Bose, 2019).
(i) A survey conducted by an MBA student has One of the primary obstacles to the widespread
concluded that using biogas instead of fuelwood adoption of biogas technologies in rural areas is the
has significantly reduced the kitchen time of the high capital cost. The upfront costs associated with
lady of the family from 1.5 to 3.5 hours. As a constructing and equipping a biogas plant are
result, she has more productive time that she often beyond the means of rural households. The
can utilize for the betterment of her family. installation cost of a family-sized biogas plant, which
Furthermore, this shift also helps to protect the varies based on its size, location, and model, is approx-
lady and her family from smoke - related ailments imately Rs. 25,000. The government offers a subsidy
such as asthma and early - onset cataracts. of approximately Rs.6,000 to Rs.10,000 for family bio-
(ii) In certain parts of the country, the cost of gas plants, which ranges from 20% to 40% of the total
collecting firewood by paying for labour is high. installation cost, depending on the plant's capacity
However, if the biogas system is implemented ranging from 1 to 6 m 3.
successfully, a family of five can save up to one The adoption of biogas technologies in rural areas is
LPG cylinder per month, resulting in an effective hindered by several factors beyond the high capital
annual saving of Rs. 4,000. costs of installation. Market barriers, such as limited
(iii) A single domestic biogas plant designed for access to markets, social and cultural barriers,
a family of five has the potential to reduce 6.5 including a lack of awareness of the benefits of
tCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions, taking into biogas technologies, regulatory and institutional bar-
account the direct CH4 emissions. Since there is riers, technical and infrastructural barriers, such as a
a social benefit, such initiatives can be included lack of skilled technicians and limited access to spare
under the Voluntary Carbon Standards (VCS), parts, information barriers, such as a lack of information
and the "Sustainable Development Verified Im- on the availability and use technologies, and owner-
pact Standard" can be added to increase their ship barriers, such as a lack of access to land, all im-
overall value. pede the widespread adoption of biogas technologies
in rural areas. It is important to address these factors to
Domestic Family type Biogas Potential enable the widespread adoption of biogas technolo-
Although biogas has been attempted throughout gies in rural areas. Figure 1 outlines the key features of
India since the 1960s, its success rate has been low, India's biogas scenario, providing a summary of the
country's biogas situation.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 93 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 1: India’s Biogas Scenario: Reality and Potential

Domestic Family Biogas Mission - Bhagirath Gram

vikas Prathishtan Model
Installation of Biogas plants which run on cattle More and more villagers are encouraged to buy and
manure and human waste has played a major role maintain a healthy herd of cattle.
at Bhagirath Gramvikas Prathishtan (BGP). Earlier,
The benefits of biogas plants are already noticeable in
most households used firewood for cooking, which put
immense pressure on the local environment. The these villages. Additionally, the slurry generated through
smoke - filled kitchen led to health issues such as biogas is an excellent organic manure that enriches the
breathing issues, eye problems, etc. Women folk of the farm soil. The use of cow dung as a fuel source has also
household suffered heavily due to this. Biogas plants encouraged villagers to take better care of their cattle.
came as a change agent. A biogas plant requires about BGP acts as a catalyst in promoting biogas plants by
10 × 10 ft area, cattle waste and other organic waste assisting prospective biogas owners in availing bank
to keep it running. The input materials burn completely loans and subsidies from the district cooperative bank,
resulting in zero waste. It is environment-friendly, eco- providing high - quality materials for construction, and
nomical and a low - maintenance system. This is the supplying trained masons to build them. As a result,
reason that even financially weak people from the around 9,000 biogas units have been successfully
middle and upper-middle-class families are opt- installed in the villages of Sindhudurg, with a target of
ing for biogas units. Multi-pronged and long-term installing 20,000 biogas systems by 2025
benefits of biogas are already noticeable in vil- (Shukla, 2021).
lages. House wives, who used to spend a lot of time
and energy collecting firewood and cooking their Apart from the benefits mentioned earlier, biogas plants
meals are now using their spare time in other pro- have also brought about significant improvements in the
ductive tasks. The slurry generated through bio- health and hygiene of the local community. The wide-
gas is an excellent organic manure that is being spread adoption of biogas plants in Sindhudurg has
used in enriching the farm soil. Since biogas plants inspired neighboring villages and communities to
basically run on cow dung this has encoura ged explore sustainable energy solutions and take steps to-
villagers to take care of the well - being of their cattle. wards a greener future (Figure 2).

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 94 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 2 : About the Bhagirath Gramvikas Pratishthan

It is worth mentioning that only a few biogas owners regular income or savings. They need bank financing or
opted for the Ujwala Yojana programme but chose to otherwise like NGOs supporting the cause. This could
continue operating their biogas plants. also apply to the replacement investments occurring
at certain intervals during the economic lifetime of the
An efficient team of 60 individuals, dedicated to
plant. Besides the non-recurring i.e. a-periodical costs,
installing and providing post - installation services,
the running costs of the plant have to be borne. The
is available on call. BGP provides contact details,
norms for installation of Bio Gas plant also need to be
including mobile numbers, to prospective biogas
revised based on the total bio waste, including food
owners. BGP’s initiative of providing pressure
waste, cattle waste and food waste. If government gives
cookers to households at subsidized rates, along with
momentum to biogas, there would be savings on LPG
training women to use them effectively, has
subsidy.
alleviated the drudgery associated with cooking meals
and brought smiles to the faces of housewives. It is pertinent to note that Blue Flame Revolution
may lead cyclical patterns in business as in ecology.
BGP focuses on sustainable development by
The organic manure generated from biogas plant can
implementing projects in various areas such as
be used for growing certain plants, which is a good
health, education, livelihood, and environment. The
fodder, resulting in balancing diet for cattle. This would
organization works with the local community to identify
give additional yield of milk with reduction of CH4 gas
their needs and develop solutions that are suitable for
emission by 25% because of rumination activity. Cattle
their specific context.
are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions
Government Support for Spreading Blue Flame (GHG), and the amount of emissions can vary depend-
Revolution : Neel Jyot ing on various factors such as the type of cattle, their
National Biogas and Manure Management Programme diet, and living conditions (Chhabra et al., 2013).
(NBMMP), a Government of India scheme gives The implementation of vermi-composting and System-
provisions for setting up family type biogas plant with atic Rice Intensification (SRI) techniques can also lead
the intention of providing biogas as a source of clean to several benefits, including increased crop yield and
cooking fuel and as a source of lighting in rural and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These
semi-urban areas of India. techniques have been found to increase paddy field
The cost necessary for the construction of biogas plants yield by up to 40%, providing a significant boost to agri-
frequently exceeds the means at the disposal of the cultural productivity (Tawde et al., 2019).
investor, in other words he cannot cover them from his

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 95 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 3 : Carbon dioxide reduction potential of Biogas / SRI / White Revolution
Way forward and Recommendations The implementation of the National Biogas & Organic
Manure Programme, or "Blue Flame Revolution" (Bio
The National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme
Gas), can further strengthen the "White Revolution"
(NNBOMP) policy has been implemented for the past
(Kamdhenu-Milk) and "Green Revolution" (Sufalam-
five years, and several recommendations as under
Rice), contributing to the sustainable development of
have been made for its improvement :
the country.
(i) Considering the positive socio-economic and
References
environmental impact, NGOs and Corporates
are encouraged to drive the Household Biogas Bose, H. K. (2019). Multimedia: Biogas eases pressure on Ma-
movement. harashtra forests, India Climate Change Dialogue, Retrieved
from https://indiaclimatedialogue.net/2019/02/25/biogas-eas-
(ii) Innovative solutions should be developed to es-pressure-on-maharashtra-forests-a-multimedia-report/
keep the plants operational during winter months,
Chhabra, A., Manjunath, K. R., Panigrahy, S., & Parihar, J.
particularly in North India. S. (2013). Greenhouse gas emissions from Indian livestock.
(iii) To facilitate the installation of biogas plants, banks Climatic Change, 117, 329-344.
such as NABARD and District Cooperative Banks Breitenmoser, L., Gross, T., Huesch, R., Rau, J., Dhar, H.,
should provide financing with lower interest rates. Kumar, S., ... &Wintgens, T. (2019). Anaerobic digestion of
biowastes in India: Opportunities, challenges and research
(iv) Norms for household biogas plant installa- needs. Journal of environmental management, 236, 396-412.
tion should be relaxed to encourage more
participation. MNRE.(2022). Renewable Energy for Rural Applications,
Chapter 5, Annual Report 2021-22, Ministry of New and Re-
(v) Companies could include the additional expenses newable Energy, Government of India, Retrieved from https://
required as part of their CSR activities, through mnre.gov.in/img/documents/uploads/file_f-1671012052530.
bulk purchase, which is required for CDM (Carbon pdf
Credit - CER). Shukla, R. (2021). Biogas to transform rural India. India CSR.
(vi) Gas Distribution/CGD companies should have a Tawde, V., Chellani, I., & Sharma, R. (2019, November). De-
Bio CNG purchase obligation. veloping coal bed methane CBM project as a truly sustainable
venture: Strategies, technologies and methodologies. In SPE/
As described above “Blue Flame Revolution” (Bio Gas) AAPG/SEG Asia Pacific Unconventional Resources Technol-
will further strengthen White Revolution (Kamdhenu- ogy Conference. One Petro.
Milk) & Green Revolution (Sufalam-Rice)

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 96 October -December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 TECHNICAL NOTES

THE STORY OF DAZZLING KASHMIR SAPPHIRE

H L Mahajan1

Introduction
Sapphire, commonly known as ‘Neelam’, over the Territory). It is rated as the world’s best sapphire, thanks
years has captivated the world and caught the to its velvet texture, azure blue color having poetic
imagination of the elite not only with its grace but also resemblance to a peacock neck.
with its near natural perfection since times immemo-
rial. Traditionally, sapphire has decorated the crowns
and robes of royalty and clergy members for centuries.
A traditional Hindu belief holds that the sapphire
causes the planet Saturn (Shani) to be favourable or
unfavourable to the wearer depending upon his/her
planetary configuration. It is said that if Shani/Saturn
is favourably placed, wearing Sapphire can make the
person kinglike from extreme poverty (‘runk’ in hindi).
On the other hand, if Saturn is unfavourably placed,
wearing sapphire can make even a king lose his
kingdom and go into extreme poverty.
Figure 1 : A Panoramic view of Paddar Mountains in
The occurrence of this precious stone in Kashmir has Kashmir
been discussed in this paper.
The Paddar valley of Kashmir (Figure 1) covers the
Basically, Sapphire is a gem variety of the mineral whole northern portion of Kishtwar district, border-
Corundum consisting of aluminium oxide (Al2O3). ing Zanskar mountains (Ladakh) on the north, Pangi,
When, blueish in colour, it is known as Sapphire; Himachal Pradesh on the east and Marwah-Wadwan
however, when reddish, it is known as Ruby. Red on the west. Paddar mines are situated at an altitude of
colour of Ruby owes itself to the presence of trace 4326 - 4697 metres (14192 - 15411 feet) above mean
amounts of Chromium in the mineral, while pres- sea level. Paddar village is now accessible through an
ence of trace amounts of Iron and Titanium lend the all/ fair weather road 298 km from Jammu to Gulabgarh
Sapphire its typical blue colour. Quite interestingly, and onwards, considered as one of the frightful roads
the sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental in the world. From Paddar village, there is a steep rise
applications, such as infrared optical components, to the sapphire mines. Generally, the temperature at
wrist watches and even in electronics industry. Paddar mines, remains minus 2-10 degree C even
Corundum is very hard (on Mohs scale, hardness of during the day time. During the remaining period, the
Corundum is 9; Diamond at 10 – the hardest and Talc area remains snow bound and inaccessible.
at 1, being softest) and is highly resistant to wear and
tear and weathering as it remains unchanged to the There are endless stories about discovery of Sapphire
effects of heat, light, and common chemicals. in Paddar.

About Sapphire in Kashmir According to one story, Maharaja Gulab Singh, the
founder of Royal Dogra Dynasty of the princely state
The Kashmir sapphire is mined out from rocks found of Jammu and Kashmir had a penchant for conquests.
in the most remote but rewardingly picturesque valley Having conquered many adjoining areas around
in a place known as Paddar in Kishtwar area of erst- Jammu, his sights were set on Ladakh and Tibet. To
while Jammu and Kashmir State (presently a Union this end, he raised an army of more than 5,000 soldiers,

HL Mahajan is an aluminus of IIT-BHU, year 1963. He served in J&K state for nearly 14 years and thereafter in Bharat
1

Aluminium Co Ltd (a GOI Enterprise) for nearly 25 years. He is presently settled in Pune (Maharashtra).

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 97 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
gave them rigorous training under his very able and later named as Jammu & Kashmir Minerals Limited
legendary General Zorawar Singh and marched them (in short JKML). JKML commenced underground mining
to conquer Ladakh and Tibet. The shortest route to operations at the world’s highest altitude. The working
Ladakh from Jammu at that time was through season of these mines used to be only about 2 months
extremely difficult and rugged terrain via Omasi la (Dhar- from 1st July to maximum 15th September, while the
lang) mountain pass from Kishtwar side, at an altitude entire area remains snow clad during the remaining
of over 5434 m (17,770 feet). Since there was no road period.
from Jammu towards this area in those days, it took
It was in 1974-75, that the author, then an employee
months of very hectic travel through hills for General
of JKML was assigned the job of mechanization of
Zorawar Singh’s army to reach Paddar. During his halt at
drilling operations at Paddar Mines. It required an air
Paddar village, the General was told by the local
compressor to be specially designed and fabricated so
villagers regarding the presence of some light - emit-
that the parts could somehow be carried on ponies in
ting shining blue stones in the area. The villagers also
knocked down condition from road head (Kishtwar) to
told that traders from Udhampur (Jammu) used to bring
Paddar and then reassembled over there. Other than
salt for them on ponies and bartered it for these stones
Helicopters, ponies were the only means of carrying
in exchange. Zorawar Singh is said to have collected
materials over such extremely difficult and arduous
some 2-3 kgs of sapphire pieces for presenting them
bridle/ foot path climbing to heights of above 4572 m
to the Maharaja. And thus these gems emerged from
(15000 ft).
their inconspicuous existence and attained prominence
of their own. There is however, no confirmation of this Extraction of Sapphire from Paddar mines varied
story from texts. very widely in each season depending upon various
factors. During some seasons, extraction was 2,00,000
Another story is that in 1881-82 there was a huge
g (1,000,000 carats) or even more.
landslide of the Zanskar mountains adjoining Paddar
which laid bare the rocks beneath the soil and disclosed Quality of Kashmir Sapphire
the presence of the gems. A local hunter of Sumcham
As regards the quality and popularity of Kashmir sap-
Village, near Paddar, picked up some of these gems
phire in the world, following instances speak for them-
and sold them to some traders from Lahaul, who later
selves :
sold them in Shimla @ 1 rupee per seer (approximately
0.933 Kg), considered a good price at that time. i) On 19th May 2004, a single Kashmir sapphire was
sold for US $ 1.5 million at Geneva Auction.
It was during the regime of Gulab Singh’s successor,
Maharaja Ranbir Singh’s time that some sort of digging/ ii) In November 2008,
mining of sapphire was started at Paddar. In 1882, the a 42.28 carat
Maharaja stationed his troops in the area to prevent (1carat = 0.2g)
theft of sapphire. It is said that 72,207 tolas (1 tola = cushion–cut Kash-
11.66 g) of sapphire worth 4 lakh rupees was mined mir sapphire and
during 1882-83. It is reported that during those days, diamond ring (Fig-
Sapphire pieces as big as 3 inches × 6 inches were ure 2 A) was sold
mined out which earned name and fame for Paddar for US $ 3,458,420
Figure 2 A
sapphires. By the end of 1887, the revenue from Pad- at Christie’s Geneva auction.
dar started waning. iii) In November
Taking serious note of it, help was sought by the 2013, a pair of
Maharaja from the then British Government. The Kashmir Sap-
British Sarkar deputed an expert Geologist Mr Tom phires weighing
D. La Touche to Jammu and Kashmir. The Geologist 26.66 carat and
explored the area for over two months from July 1888 20.88 carat, con-
and put forth a suggestion to carry out organized min- sidered to be ‘the
ing of sapphire in Paddar area. According to La Tou- Finest sapphire’ of
che’s report, in 1887 a big sapphire weighing 6 oz (170 Kashmir (Figure 2
g/ 850 carats) was found. Somewhat regular mining of B) at Southeby’s
sapphire was commenced thereafter. Geneva Auction,
was priced at US $
In 1909, a department of Mining was established by
8,358,520.
the Jammu and Kashmir Government, which was

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 98 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
iv) In April 2014 a 28.18 car- The J & K Minerals Limited, in the absence of detailed
at Kashmir sapphire and exploration and lack of resources and infrastructure
diamond ring (Figure has only been carrying out screening of old dumps and
2 C) was sold for US$ mining operations up to a shallow depth.
5,093,000 at Southeby’s
New York Auction. The Company on 31st March 2018, ‘selected’ a private
party as a joint venture partner to carry out explora-
tion and exploitation of Sapphire. The party has not yet
started any operations.
The author is of the opinion that if extraction of sapphire
Figure 2 C at Paddar is carried out in a scientific and profession-
al manner with proper exploration and requisite infra
v) In May 2015, an excep-
structure, it can be a billion dollar industry, a treasure
tional 35.09 carat Kash-
mir blue Sapphire ring house for the country.
(Figure 2 D) was sold at Bibliography
Christie’s Geneva sale
for US$ 7,357,999 to an 1. Notice dated 09.08.2005 by JKML Expression of
Asian buyer. Interest for Exploration and Exploitation of Sap-
phire Mines in Jammu and Kashmir (India) through
Joint Venture.
2. ‘Sapphires of Paddar’ published in Greater Kash-
Figure 2 D mir Newspaper dated Srinagar, Feb 04, 2019.
vi) In November 3. GemPundit.com Kashmir Sapphire
2018, a superb
Sapphire and 4. Astteria Magazine
diamond neck- 5. The Value, 29 Nov 2018, ‘World’s Most Expensive
lace, known as
Kashmir sapphire Necklace’
‘Peacock neck-
lace’ 109.08 6. Paddarmachail.com. ‘Paddar Sapphire Mines; A
carat set with 21 Million Dollar Industry’, by Ashish Chauhan dated
top quality Kash- 18.01.2020
mir Royal blue
sapphires, 39.5 cm in length, (Figure 2 E) was sold 7. The Natural Sapphire Company news dated Feb
at Christie’s ‘Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Auc- 27, 2015
tion’ for a whopping HK $ 116.5m (US $ 14.9m), 8. Pala International, La Touche’s Report dated May
equivalent to Rs 112.522 crores (at the then rate of
2, 1890
Rs 75 per US $), a world auction record.
9. Journal. HARUNI.com, news bulletin ‘16 Record
The list of such sales of Kashmir Sapphires at interna-
tional auctions is endless. Breaking Sapphires sold at Auction Houses’

According to the National Remote Sensing Agency, 10. Expression of Interest (EOI) dated April 4, 2013 by
Hyderabad, which conducted a satellite survey, JKML to appoint a Joint venture partner for explo-
this area contains Sapphire reserves worth Rupees ration and exploitation of Sapphire from Paddar.
hundreds of crores.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 99 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 News and Views
FIVE WAYS IN WHICH INDIA’S OIL AND GAS SECTOR COULD BE
COMPATIBLE WITH THE NET- ZERO TARGET
Udayan Singh1

It would probably not be an over statement to say that the fugitive emissions. The larger methane emissions
one of the biggest stories coming out of the Conference intensity of the oil and gas supply chain compared
of Parties (COP-26) meeting at Glasgow was Prime to coal is anticipated because India’s coal mining is
Minister Modi’s commitment of India reaching net-ze- largely dominated by surface mining, and because
ro greenhouse gas emissions by 2070. Of course, the fugitive emissions in the former are interspersed
major focus since has been on renewable energy, affor- throughout the supply chain.
estation and creating a sustainable path forward for the
We point out here that there is a substantial opportu-
coal sector. Others have also focused on socio-political
nity for knowledge sharing for refining the inventory
issues such as just transitions. In this brief note, we
estimates. Consider the ONGC’s experience of detailed
wish to make some recommendations on the role the oil
understanding of methane emissions at 26 facilities
and gas sector could play in India’s energy transitions
within five assets. These have provided detailed insights
and what is the ‘wish list’ from a climate and sustainabil-
into the emission patterns. For example, Chakraborty
ity perspective. Indeed, India’s oil and gas firms have
et al (2012) have reported that compressors, storage
followed up the Government of India’s commitment by
tanks and acid gas removal equipment result in more
announcing their own net-zero targets. India’s largest
than 80% of methane emissions in these facilities. Site-
petroleum refiner, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
specific details have also been provided in their study.
has targeted reaching net-zero emissions by 2046, with
As an example, while compressing units contribute
HPCL, BPCL and GAIL targeting a 2040 timeline for
almost 90% of the emissions at an Assam facility, they
carbon neutrality. These companies have noted that
may only contribute only a fifth of all methane emissions
they are developing a robust action plan in line with the
at Uran. Our understanding is that GAIL has also car-
Science Based Targets Initiatives. The following recom-
ried out similar analyses at their Vijaipur, Hazira and
mendations could aid in that regard.
Jhabua facilities. Delineation of these total emissions
Recommendation 1 : Refine India’s greenhouse gas per supply chain component could be a critical addition
inventory for the oil and gas sector of India’s greenhouse gas inventory.
As a party to the United Nations Framework Convention Recommendation 2 : Target methane emission
on Climate Change, India has submitted two national reductions over the next decade
communications and three biennial update reports elab-
Moving from measurement to management, we
orating its greenhouse gas inventory. The coal mining
strongly recommend that methane emission mitigation
sector inventory has benefited from repeated improve-
obtain primacy in India’s decarbonization efforts. While
ments and our recent work has brought these practices
most of the targets in the reduction emissions focus on
at par with the most updated guidance of the Intergov-
CO2, short-term targets focusing on methane could be
ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Singh et
equally or more important. This is because of two rea-
al, 2022a). That said, reporting in the oil and gas sec-
sons. First, methane is a combustible fuel. As such, the
tor still adheres to Tier-I emission factors, or in other
International Energy Agency and others have noted that
words, uses the default IPCC emission factors without
around half of methane emissions may be mitigated
any explicit understanding of Indian operational prac-
at costs less than $0/t-CO2, i.e., at net profits. This is
tices. Using these emission factors, the MOEFCC has
because the costs of mitigation largely offset the price
reported that oil and gas sector accounts for 54% of
of the recovered methane.

Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern, Northwestern University, Evanston, 60208, United States.
1

Email : [email protected]

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 100 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
A second reason has emerged over the last month or also well known. Particularly solar has shown issues
so based on the study performed by Dunn et al (2023). with load balancing in grids with high penetration be-
They have shown that methane mitigation is more cause there is a supply-demand mismatch.
effective at avoiding global warming. This is because
India’s existing fleet of natural gas power plants could
of methane’s shorter lifetime of about 12 years, as
play an important role here. Notably, there is a require-
compared to much larger lifetime of CO2. CO2 mitiga-
ment for peaking load during evenings due to high
tion efforts in the energy sector (e.g., via CO2 capture
demands and low/no supply of solar electricity. As rec-
and storage [CCS]) also are time-taking to construct.
ommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee
This is evident by the slowing construction of atleast
on Energy, the existing gas power plants may serve this
two high profile CCS facilities. The Kemper County coal
role more efficiently than coal or nuclear plants. This
gasification plant was initially planned to operate with
is because the ramp rates for state - of - the - art gas
CCS. However, high cost overruns required the plant
plants is 8-15%/ minute, while that for corresponding
to shift to natural gas combustion without CCS. More
coal plants is a maximum of 6%/minute (with even lower
recently, the Drax power facility in the United Kingdom
for nuclear) (Joshi et al, 2020). The gas plants in India
paused its construction and has sought greater clarity
have had a low utilization rate, achieving only 23% load
from the government regarding available incentives. On
factor in 2020 (Vishal et al, 2022). Thus, we echo the
the other hand, methane mitigation is ostensibly rapidly
view of the Standing Committee that use of the exist-
scalable. The ONGC’s own experience shows that a
ing 24 GW capacity of gas plants would constitute its
focus on detecting and fixing leaks delivered benefits of
most optimal use, reduce its stranding, and make it less
about $3.4 million within five years (Bylin et al, 2012).
vulnerable to rapid market price changes in natural gas.
Singh et al (2022b) have summarized that about a third
of the methane emissions in the oil and gas sector may Recommendation 4 : Plan new ‘decarbonization
be reduced by refurbishing existing infrastructure and clusters’ and site upcoming infrastructure to align
installing new equipment, as necessary. Use of electric with these
valve controls and continuous, ground-based measure- India’s energy infrastructure is uniquely placed and if
ment are more recent innovations to eliminate methane new gas infrastructure is planned to account for existing
emissions. de-carbonization opportunities, the overall cost of miti-
Targeting methane emissions is particularly important gation could be minimized. One paper in this issue as
as India focusses increasingly on unconventional gas well as the interview focusses on the use of enhanced
sources such as coalbed methane and shale gas. These oil recovery. Recently, ONGC has signed a Memoran-
reservoirs are less permeable and therefore require dum of Understanding with Shell to focus on enhanced
hydraulic fracturing. Experience from the United States oil recovery opportunities via CCS. Past work by Garg
has shown that completing such wells has a compa- et al (2017) has shown that CCS would be more cost-
rably higher methane emission intensity compared to effective if clusters of sources across sectors (power,
conventional wells. As such, ‘green completion’ options steel, cement, refining and fertilizers) are formed around
have emerged which involve capturing during well com- these sinks. Vishal et al (2022) have further extended
pletion and workovers (Bylin et al, 2012). these efforts by showing that the enhanced oil recovery
is clearly profitable when an oil price of $45-60/bbl is
Recommendation 3 : Use existing gas power plant
assumed. This is not unreasonable as the current price
fleet for peaking
of oil is $71/bbl and has sufficiently bounced back since
India has strongly focused on variable renewable the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Some of
energy as part of its de-carbonization efforts. Most of the potential EOR basins with a high concentration of
the key players – whether in the public or private sec- CO2 large point sources are (with emissions from sourc-
tor – in the energy business have invested in some way es in parentheses) :
here. As several key stakeholders have pointed out,
- Mumbai High (81 Mt - CO2 / year)
there has been a 7-8 times reduction in the electricity
- Krishna - Godavari (72 Mt - CO2 / year)
produced by solar photo voltaic power plants, which has
- Cauvery (65 Mt-CO2 / year)
induced high competitiveness with fossil sources (Garg
- Cambay (49 Mt-CO2 / year)
et al, 2021). However, the issues with such sources are

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 101 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 India’s biogas production is an order - of - magnitude
lower than the established potential (Mittal et al, 2018).
In fact, the potential for biogas under improved tech-
nology and policy conditions could increase to as high
as 310 - 655 BCM / year by 2040, which corresponds
to 36% of India’s projected energy use by that year
(Mittal et al, 2019). In addition to low - carbon energy
and improved air quality, such initiatives could also lead
to improved rural economies and high employment
opportunities. That said, lack of technical awareness,
under - collection of feedstock and high upfront costs
are few of the major deterrents in realizing this potential
(Mittal et al, 2018). We recommend that the key play-
ers in the oil and gas sector identify economically viable
opportunities in this avenue. This is not a new sugges-
tion and something that the companies are already
cognizant of. GAIL has published its findings of land fill
gas collection around a previously unscientifically man-
aged site near Delhi (Kashyap et al, 2016).
It is also notable that biogas often has low calorific value
and may not be directly compatible with existing gas
infrastructure. This is because biogas is roughly equal
parts methane and CO2. However, biogas upgrading
(separating out CO2) may be undertaken using avail-
Figure 1. Identified source–sink clusters for key
able technologies. Interestingly, the separated CO2
sedimentary basins and coalfields inIndia. The concen-
could also then be used for geologic sequestration or
tric circles represent radial distance from the euclidian
utilization. More importantly, the key product emerging
centre of each sink (Source : Vishal et al, 2022).
out of this process is renewable natural gas, which could
Policy makers could plan de-carbonization clusters potentially have a huge market in heavy-duty transport.
around these potential EOR fields. Since EOR basins The Government has announced an ambitious electric
geographically intersperse with saline aquifers, such vehicle policy with the goal of 30% vehicles on the road
CO2 injection projects could have long lifetime and being electric. While light duty vehicles are amenable to
relatively less risk. Moreover, the Government of India electrification, heavy-duty transport (e.g., trucks) could
has also indicated strong policy signals towards CO2 - be fueled by methane. Here, renewable natural gas
to-methanol production and blue hydrogen production could have an important market. The last year saw Tata
(hydrogen produced from fossil fuels incorporating Motors – which has a 51% market share in the heavy
CCS). We recommend that such infrastructure is also commercial vehicle segment – launch compressed
planned within the aforementioned clusters or in the natural gas fueled trucks. While use of fossil natural gas
Damodar Valley region in eastern India to minimize CO2 in such trucks could offer 10-20% reduction in green-
transport costs via economies-of-scale (Figure 1). house gas emissions compared to the diesel baseline,
Recommendation 5 : Identify opportunities for bio- use of renewable natural gas could deliver deep decar-
gas / renewable natural gas production at scale bonization enroute to net-zero emissions.

India has encountered well-known issues of agricul- Disclaimer

tural residue burning, which caused unprecedented The article represents the views of the author alone,
levels of air pollution. Instead, crop residues, municipal and they should not be considered to be representative
solid wastes, dairy wastes and animal manure could be of the positions of any institutions the author is affiliated
converted to biogas via anaerobic digestion. Currently, with.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 102 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
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MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 103 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 , NEWS ON ASHOKNAGAR, KG BASIN AND MUMBAI OFFSHORE

WEST BENGAL EMERGES AS A PROMISING HUB FOR OIL AND GAS

EXPLORATION WITH RECENT DISCOVERIES
In 2018, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) larly noteworthy because it was the first significant gas
made a significant discovery in Ashoknagar, 24 Parga- discovery in the region. The discovery also opened up
nas, West Bengal. The company reported that it had new opportunities for exploration and production in the
found one lakh cubic meters per day of natural gas region, which could lead to further discoveries in the
flowing from one well in the region. The discovery future. Following the discovery, ONGC announced
was made during an exploratory drilling campaign plans to develop the natural gas reserves in Ashoknagar.
conducted by ONGC in the region. The well in ques- The company stated that it would invest around
tion was drilled to a depth of around 3,600 meters, and Rs 4,000 crore to drill development wells and set up
the company found significant reserves of natural gas. the necessary infrastructure to produce natural gas
The discovery in Ashoknagar was significant for India's from the region. ONGC also stated that it expected to
energy sector, as the country has been trying to increase produce around 0.6 million metric standard cubic
its domestic production of natural gas. India has been meters per day (mmscmd) of natural gas from the
heavily dependent on natural gas imports to meet its region once the development wells were operational.
domestic demand, and any significant domestic discov- This would significantly boost India's domestic produc-
ery can significantly reduce the country's dependence tion of natural gas and reduce the country's depen-
on imports. The discovery in Ashoknagar was particu- dence on imports.

Figure 1. Ashoknagar Oil Field Source : Wikipedia

(https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAshoknagar_Oil_
Field&psig=AOvVaw3SZ8nbwAx_kCF39TMgUy8U&ust=1683602257244000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CB
EQjRxqFwoTCJiCz6Xh5P4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE)

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 104 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
According to ONGC, it would take around two years For further information, please visit the website :
to drill the development wells in Ashoknagar, which
h t t p s : / / o n g c i n d i a . c o m / d o c u -
will produce a mix of oil and natural gas. The compa-
ments/77751/1767719/1669_279_News_21122020.
ny plans to invest around Rs. 4,000 crore in the proj-
pdf/0c161f06-503a-66b6-edfa-4779867fcfd7
ect. The domestic oil discoveries such as the one in
Ashoknagar are critical for India's energy security and ONGC's Krishna-Godavari Basin Block to Com-
economic growth. mence Oil Production in May 2023 and Gas Next
The discovery in Ashoknagar was also significant Year
because it came at a time when India was trying to The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) intends
promote the use of natural gas as a cleaner and more to commence commercial crude oil production from its
environmentally friendly source of energy. Natural gas prolific deep-water KG-DWN-98/2 Block in Bay of Ben-
is a less polluting fuel compared to coal and oil and is gal block. The block has been a significant exploration
also more efficient and cost-effective for power genera- site for ONGC, and the company is now ready to begin
tion, industrial production, and transportation. production.
The oil discovery in Ashoknagar is a significant devel-
The initial oil production is expected to be between
opment for India's energy sector. The discovery has the
10,000 and 12,000 barrels per day (bpd). However,
potential to boost India's domestic oil production and
within two to three months, ONGC aims to ramp up
reduce its dependence on imports, there by improv-
production to reach a peak level of 45,000 bpd. The
ing its energy security. It also comes at a time when
company's goal is to maximize the production from the
India is trying to reduce its carbon foot print and transi-
tion towards cleaner sources of energy. Therefore, the block, which holds substantial reserves of crude oil.
discovery in Ashoknagar is a step in the right direction ONGC has also stated that it plans to commence gas
towards achieving India's energy security and sustain- production from the KG Basin Block in the next year.
ability goals. The block is estimated to hold significant reserves of
Oil and natural gas extraction has commenced in the natural gas, and the company aims to develop this
Doulatpur area also, which is under the same police potential in addition to the oil production. It expects to
station as Baigachi in Ashoknagar. The Bengal gov- produce around 2 million cubic meters of gas per day
ernment has granted ONGC, a Petroleum Exploration (mmscmd) from the KG Basin Block.
License (PEL) to explore four different areas in Howrah,
The KG Basin Block has been an essential exploration
Hooghly, North, and South 24-Parganas for the assess-
site for ONGC, and the company has invested heavily
ment of oil reserves.
in exploring and developing the area. The block is esti-
After the discovery of multiple reservoirs in the Asho- mated to hold over 500 million barrels of oil and over 1.5
kenagar area, ONGC plans to drill at 14 additional trillion cubic meters of gas reserves. The reserves are
locations within the next two years. Meanwhile, explo- spread over a vast area of approximately 6,000 square
ration of one of the three blocks in Ashoknagar, North kilometers. The company has been working on the KG
24-Parganas, is set to begin soon. This project will Basin Block for several years, and the commencement
involve an investment of Rs. 1,200 crore and will cre- of production marks a significant milestone for the com-
ate numerous job opportunities. The Bengal govern- pany. It has put in place the necessary infrastructure,
ment provided land in the Ashoknagar area to ONGC including drilling rigs, pipelines, and storage facilities, to
for the installation of production systems and related commence production.
infrastructure after discovering oil reserves in the
region. The state government viewed this as a signifi-
cant project for the state's development and offered the
land for a nominal fee of Rs. 1.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 105 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Figure 2. ONGC's Krishna-Godavari Basin Block. Source : Republic Bharat
(https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.republicworld.com%2Fbusiness-news%2Findia-
business%2Fongc-seeks-peak-oil-gas-from-kg-block-in-krishna-godavari-basin-in-fy24-articleshow.html&psig=A
OvVaw1IyhaodqyxmL3Ofekcnamx&ust=1683611922077000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCIi
Jnq-F5f4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE)

The commencement of oil and gas production from the In conclusion, the commencement of oil production
KG Basin Block is a significant development for India's from the KG Basin Block by ONGC in May 2023, with
energy sector. The country has been heavily dependent gas production to follow next year, is a significant devel-
on imports to meet its domestic demand for oil and gas. opment for India's energy sector. The block is estimated
However, the commencement of production from the to hold substantial reserves of crude oil and natural gas,
KG Basin Block will significantly boost India's domestic and the commencement of production will significantly
production and reduce its dependence on imports. boost India's domestic production and reduce its depen-
dence on imports. The development is also significant
The KG Basin Block is also significant for India's efforts
for India's efforts to promote the use of natural gas as a
to promote the use of natural gas as a cleaner and more
cleaner and more sustainable source of energy.
sustainable source of energy. The country has set a
target of increasing the share of natural gas in its ener- For further information, please visit the website :
gy mix from 6% to 15% by 2030. The commencement of https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/
gas production from the KG Basin Block will help India oil-and-gas/will-provide-50-pc-subsidy-on-cooking-gas-
achieve this target and reduce its dependence on coal cylinders-former-karnataka-cm-kumaraswamy-makes-
and oil, which are more polluting fuels. poll-promise/99083616

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 106 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
Unlocking Mumbai's Energy Potential : ONGC's Re- These blocks were secured by ONGC through auctions
markable Oil and Gas Discoveries in Offshore Block held under the open acreage licensing policy (OALP)
regime. This announcement holds great importance for
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), both ONGC and the nation, as it reaffirms their dedica-
has made two significant findings in the blocks locat- tion to tapping into India's hydrocarbon resources and
ed in the Mumbai Offshore region of the Arabian Sea. enhancing the accumulation of reserves.

Figure 3. ONGC's significant hydrocarbon discoveries in the Mumbai Offshore region

(https://www.timesnownews.com/mumbai/ongc-makes-major-oil-and-gas-discoveries-in-mumbai-offshore-block-
what-it-means-for-india-article-100172313)

Two significant findings were unveiled in blocks named and exploration capabilities. As per the regime, compa-
'Amrit' and 'Moonga,' secured by ONGC during the nies choose acreages for bidding based on data analy-
initial and third OALP auction rounds, respectively. sis. These findings will play a crucial role in unlocking
Block Amrit spans approximately 725 square kilometres India's hydrocarbon resources and enhancing reserves
and is situated around 100 kilometres away from the accretion.
landfall point. On the other hand, block Moonga covers
India will significantly reduce its reliance on imported
a vast area of 4,668 square kilometres and is positioned
crude oil and gas through these crucial discoveries.
30 kilometres off the coast of Mumbai. The Directorate
ONGC's recent findings in the Arabian Sea blocks hold
General of Hydrocarbons, the upstream regulator, has
great promise for enhancing India's domestic hydrocar-
been duly informed about both discoveries, and their
bon production and diminishing import dependency.
potential is currently undergoing assessment.
The company is currently evaluating the potential of
The discoveries made by ONGC under the OALP re- these discoveries and remains committed to tapping
gime demonstrate the company's strong data analysis into India's extensive hydrocarbon reserves.

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 107 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 Letter to Editor

To,
The Honorary Editor. MGMI

MGMI Editorial Board deserves appreciation for of ECL in 1996. I held several meetings with the trade
the improvement of MGMI News Journal and the union leaders and explained to them that around 50
editorials are quite nice and erudite. Here, I want to share abandoned quarries by erstwhile owners are
my practical experiences as General Manager (Env), water-logged. It was their responsibility to fill up
ECL on economic mine closure plans of quarries and abandoned quarries before closure. Now tree planta-
opencast projects for benefit of mining companies. As tions have been done on whatever remained on over
of 3rd March 2020, all Mine Closure Plans (MCPs) must burden dumps. ECL was a losing company and we
be submitted either by Part 1 (risk and outcome-based) have to find a viable solution for the benefit of the land-
or Part 2 (small mining operations) of the Statutory owners, to whom the land is automatically returned
Guidelines. The 2020 Statutory Guidelines supersede after closure. I had contacted the WB Department of
the Guidelines for Mine Closure Plans (2015). As per Fisheries, and they can help erstwhile owners, to help
the Statutory Guidelines for Mine Closure, Plans must start fisheries and training. CMD and DT were apprised
include a description of the mining operation, and a and they convinced the leaders that this could be very
map of the location of the mining operation showing all profitable. Since 1997, fisheries were started in most of the
relevant mine activities, land disturbances, tenements, water-logged quarries of ECL with no cost by the
and other land tenures, with an estimated project company and satisfactorily continuing,
completion date. The Central Government vide Then, for deepwater fisheries, there is a wire-netting
Notification No. GSR 329 (E) dated 10.04.2003 and No. method, for which I contacted Director, IIT, Kharag-
GSR 330 (E) dated 10.04.2003 amended the Mineral pur Dr Amitabh Ghose and then HOD (Food & Agri),
Concession Rules, 1960, and Mineral Conservation Dr Behl, and a team of professors were assigned,
and Development Rules, 1988 respectively. It must Dr Mitra. Dr Mal et al. The IIT team visited some deep
aim at leaving the area in such a way that rehabilitation quarries in ECL and wanted a project and S&T with
does not become a burden to society after the mining CMPDI and Ministry of Coal could be obtained. They
operation is over. It must also aim to create a self-sus- had made some guidelines, but it was deferred for
tained ecosystem. According to the Guidelines of Mine the future. Now, many deep quarries in CIL subsid-
Closure Plan of Ministry of Coal No-55011-01-2009- iaries are reaching an economic cut-off ratio and
CPA, dated 11 January 2012, the Prime responsibility may be closed in near future. The Department of
of mine closure lies with the mine owner. Fisheries is under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal
The oldest mining region of Raniganj Coalfields was Husbandry & Dairying. It came into existence with
extensively worked by both opencast and underground effect vide Cabinet Secretariat’s Notification
methods from 1774. In 1973, all Non-coking Coal F.No.1/21/21/2018-Cab dated 05.02.2019. Grants and
Mines were nationalized and brought under the Eastern help can be obtained by mining companies from Cen-
Division of Coal Mines Authority Limited. In 1975 tral and now state fisheries departments as well. With
Eastern Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal regards and thanking you in anticipation.
India Limited (CIL) was formed and inherited all the
private sector coal mines of Raniganj Coalfields. Around Yours truly,
1995, trade unions operating in ECL demanded that
Binay Kumar Samanta
all the abandoned quarries have to be filled up. Many
demonstrations were being held and Director (Tech) MMGI, LM-2077
Mr K K Khadia posted me as General Manager (Env) Director, Project & Environment Consultants

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 108 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
 OBITUARY

MGMI News Journal, Vol. 48, No. 3 & 4 109 October - December 2022 & January - March, 2023
_____________________________________________________________________
Name of the Publications Year US$ Rs
Progress of the Mineral Industry *
(Golden Jubilee Vol.1906-1956) 1956 12 60
Dr. D.N. Wadia Commemorative Volume* 1965 15 100
Small Scale Mining in India and abroad * 1991 45 450
New Finds of Coal In India – Resource potential and Mining Possibilities 1993 30 300
Computer Applications in Mineral Industry 1993 40 400
Indian Mining Directory (4th Edition)* 1993 40 400
Asian Mining 1993 1993 85 850
Mine Productivity & Technology 1994 75 500
Maintenance Management for Mining Machinery* 1995 60 600
High Production Technology for underground Mines* 1996 50 500
Mineral Industry Development in India – Issues, Perspective & Policy 1996 20 200
Disaster Prevention Management for Coal Mines, Vol I 1996 50 500
Disaster Prevention Management for Coal Mines, Vol II 1996 50 500
Business and Investment opportunities in
Mining Industries (BIMI ’96) * 1996 40 400
Indian Mining Directory (5th Edition) 1996 50 500
Information Technology in Mineral Industry(MGMIT’97)* 1997 50 500
Technological Advances in Opencast Mining(Opencast’98)* 1998 80 800
Management of Mining Machinery (MMM 1999) 1999 80 800
Mining & Marketing of Minerals (MMM 2000) 2000 80 800
Mechanisation and Automation in Mineral Industry(MAMI 2001) 2001 80 800
Mineral Industry : Issues on Economics, Environment and
Technology (MEET 2002) 2002 80 800
Development of Indian Mineral Industry Looking Ahead(DIMI 2003) 2003 20 200
Emerging Challenges in Mining Industry (ECMI 2003) 2003 50 500
Future of Indian Mineral Industry (FIMI 2004) 2004 80 800
Bridging the Demand Supply Gap in Indian Coal Industry* 2005 30 300
Asian Mining Towards A New Resurgence (Vol. I & II) 2006 175 2400
Indian Mining Directory (6th Edition) 2006 60 600
Turnaround Stories of Coal Companies and Future Strategies 2006 20 200
Reprints of Holland Memorial Lecture 2006 40 400
Glimpses from Transactions 2006 30 300
Coal Beneficiation & Development of Coal Derivatives* 2007 40 400
2nd Asian Mining Congress* 2008 200 2000
Glimpses of Hundred years of MGMI of India (1906 – 2006) 2008 50 500
3rd Asian Mining Congress 2010 160 2000
4th Asian Mining Congress 2012 100 1000
5th Asian Mining Congress 2014 (CD) 100 1000
National Seminar on
Indian Mining Industry-Challenges Ahead (IMICA) 2015 15 150
6th Asian Mining Congress (Pen Drive) 2016 100 1000
6th Asian Mining Congress (Proceeding Vol) 2016 500 5000
7th Asian Mining Congress (Pen Drive) 2017 100 1000
8th Asian Mining Congress (Green Mining: The Way Forward) 2019 250 2500
9th Asian Mining Congress (Green Mining: The Way Forward) 2022 250 2500

Regular publications a) News Letter (published quarterly)

b) Transactions (published Annually)
* out of stock