Arunachal Pradesh has granted licenses to OIL for exploration of Petroleum Products
Our Correspondent
Itanagar: The State Government has granted Petroleum Exploration Licenses (PEL) to Oil India Limited (OIL) for the exploration of petroleum products in seven new blocks and the existing Jairampur block in Changlang district.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu handed over the licenses to OIL Chief General Manager Inderjit Baruah and his team.
In a meeting with the Chief Minister September last, OIL officials had urged the state government for early issuance of Forest Clearances (FC) for the identified blocks so that Environment Clearance can be obtained from the central ministry to begin the survey and exploration.
Baruah thanked the Khandu for fast-tracking and completing the process within a short span of time enabling OIL to start its explorations from this month. The exploration blocks awarded to OIL spreads across Changlang, Tirap, Lohit, East Siang, West Siang, and Lower Dibang Valley districts.
Khandu requested the PSU to keep in the loop with the local administration during exploration, which includes explosions so that people in the vicinity can be intimated in advance besides putting in place precautionary measures, a CMO release informed.
He also suggested that the PSU may adopt public utility facilities like roads, which are exclusively used by the company. This he said would facilitate better cooperation and support from the local populace.
He urged for providing services to the locals through the PSU’s CSR activities.
Khandu emphasized that a part of the royalties received through such projects should be utilized on the development and welfare of the local people in the vicinity.
He asked Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, who was also present in the meeting, to ensure this by putting in a place a robust mechanism.
“Local people of the district where such projects are developed should get first preference on the benefits from the project,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister was informed that the exploration of each block consists of two phases - initial exploration and subsequent exploration. The exploration period of each phase is about 3 years with a provision for an additional one-year extension. The total exploration period is for 8 years.
The grant of licenses for the blocks would lead to a significant increase in exploration and production activities in the oil sector in the state. In the long run discoveries from these blocks would go towards enhancing domestic production of petroleum and reduction of import dependence of the country, the release said.
In order to accelerate exploration activities in the country, the Centre had offered 55 exploration blocks spread across offshore and onshore areas under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) and Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bid Round-1.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH), Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas conducted bidding of exploration blocks under OALP Bid Round-1 from January 19, 2018, that concluded on May 2 last year.
Under this bidding process, OIL bagged 9 blocks, 7 of which falls in Arunachal Pradesh. In addition, the ministry also granted the Jairampur Extension Block measuring an area of 23.25 sq km falling under Changlang district to OIL on a nomination basis.
Meanwhile, the OIL officials informed that the detail project report for the proposed pipeline from Kumchai (Kharsang) in Changlang district to OIL’s Duliajan in Assam for transportation of natural gas is completed and submitted to the state government as directed.
The proposed cross country pipeline would cover a distance of 60 km of which 18.85 km would be within Arunachal territory. Once it starts functioning, the natural gas, which at the moment is burnt off without much utilization, can be put to commercial use earning revenue for the state government, the release added.
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