Essar Oil to Pump Rs 3000 Cr into Raniganj Gas Project

Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (EOGEPL) has announced a significant investment of up to Rs 3,000 crore to develop its coal bed methane (CBM) block in Raniganj, West Bengal. This expansion is part of the company’s strategy to boost gas production and contribute to increasing India’s gas output to five percent within the next five years.

The Raniganj CBM field, spread across 500 square kilometers, has a total in-place resource of four trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. However, only 70 square kilometers have been harnessed so far, with 92 billion cubic feet (BCF) or 0.92 TCF extracted over the past decade. The new investment will focus on tapping into unexplored areas, significantly increasing gas production.

EOGEPL plans to drill additional wells, aiming to raise gas output from the current 0.93 million standard cubic meters per day to nearly four to five million standard cubic meters per day. This expansion marks a substantial increase in production capacity, supported by the company’s ongoing investment of Rs 500 crore in drilling new wells.

CBM, a natural gas primarily composed of 90-95 percent methane, is stored or absorbed in coal seams. Essar’s enhanced production will play a crucial role in meeting India’s growing energy needs, particularly in the context of cleaner energy sources.

This investment underscores Essar Oil's commitment to contributing to India’s energy landscape, leveraging the vast potential of the Raniganj CBM block to fuel future growth and sustainability in the sector.

News by Rahul Yelligetti