DGH headache for Oilmax at Duarmara block
Not just wild elephants, but joint operators Oilmax Energy and Antelopus Energy must also contend with the DGH to win environmental clearance at the 8.91-sq km Duarmara (AA/ONDSF/Duarmara/2016) field in Assam.
Mumbai-based Oilmax and Gurgaon-based Antelopus need clearance for a three-well development drilling plan within the Dehing-Patkai elephant reserve and other areas that elephants use while travelling through the forest 'elephant corridors.' That's enough of a challenge as far as winning environmental clearance goes. But at its April 23 (2024) meeting, the environment ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) told Oilmax and Antelopus they must go back to the DGH to take fresh approval for the proposed Rs120cr ($14.4m) drilling plan because the previous DGH approval expired in 2019.
At the April 2024 meeting, Oilmax, Antelopus and their consultant, Chennai-based ABC Technolabs, detailed their plan to develop three wells drilled by Oil India, install an Early Production System (EPS) and lay pipelines. This proposal was first considered at the EAC meeting on June 28 and 29 (2019).
The EAC then recommended the project for environmental clearance subject to Stage-I forest clearance, which in turn depends on an ongoing court case. However, Oilmax and Antelopus pointed out at the April 23 (2024) meeting that the 'area under dispute' in the court case is more than 10-km away.
Yet the EAC said the "elephant corridor area cannot be a fixed corridor and may vary after seven years." Therefore, the EAC asked Oilmax to submit Geographic Information System (GIS) data for three months to map and analyse 3D data.
Further, the EAC highlighted the delay in receiving Stage-I forest clearance, which is needed because the project involves diverting 9.31 hectares of forest land. Previously, an EAC meeting on September 19 (2019) ruled that Oilmax must submit the Stage-I forest clearance within 18 months.
"However, Oilmax submitted the Stage-I Forest Clearance (for only 3.02 hectares) on December 29 (2023) after more than four years," noted the EAC at the April 2024 meeting.