Essar Oil sets 2008 for CBM from Raniganj
Essar Oil plans to begin commercial production of Coal Bed Methane from its Raniganj block in eastern India by mid-2008.
An Essar source tells this report that Raniganj, with 1-tcf recoverable CBM, could produce 2.5m cm/d gas for about 20 years. Of the 12 core-holes committed, Essar has drilled 10 and is now drilling the rest.
“Cross bore seismology has been done to analyse the coal seams,†we hear. After this year’s monsoon, Essar plans to drill the first multi-lateral well at Raniganj.
“If this is successful we will drill about 24 more such wells.†These wells will substitute the originally planned 200 vertical wells.
The advantage of multilateral wells is, says Essar “that there is no need to hydro-fracture the coal seams to produce CBM, unlike in conventional vertical wells.†Essar has no concerns about finding buyers for its CBM as Raniganj is very close to state-owned Durgapur Steel Plant and the West Bengal state capital.
“Kolkata is just 200-km away,†we hear.
