Shale Gas - Expanding India's Gas Frontier
DEW Journal November 2010
technology
Shale Gas
Shale gas-expanding India’s gas frontier?
Samir Verma, Senior Manager, Schlumberger Business Consulting, India, Asia Shubha Shanthamurthy, Manager, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Europe, CIS & Africa
The exploitation of shale gas resources is garnering increasing attention in India, which relies on oil imports to fuel its growing economy. In November, India signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Geological Survey for technical assistance to assess shale gas resources and advance energy cooperation between the two countries. ONGC, India’s largest upstream player, is drilling a series of pilot shale gas wells in the Damodar basin. Reliance Industries, the country’s biggest gas producer, recently spent $3.5 billion on three shale gas projects in the United States – some say the deals were as much to acquire shale gas technology and know-how than simply the assets. But other observers believe India’s shale gas timelines are too aggressive and need to reflect the enormous differences between the evolving Indian gas market and the mature U.S. sector. So, is shale gas a real opportunity for India to feed the next generation of gas power plants or is it a pipe-dream? What should regulators and operators do to avoid the experience of coal bed methane (CBM), which after several rounds of auctions is contributing only a miniscule 5 per cent of the Indian natural gas supplies? How should the regulators create a conducive regulatory environment? How should prospective shale gas operators, e.g. power generators and exploration and production (E&P) companies, approach their shale gas strategy? In this article, Samir Verma and Shubha Shanthamurthy of Schlumberger Business Consulting share lessons from the United States and Europe, and give their perspectives on how prospective Indian shale gas operators should position themselves for success, and what the authorities can do to create a favorable environment
technology
Shale Gas
Shale gas-expanding India’s gas frontier?
Samir Verma, Senior Manager, Schlumberger Business Consulting, India, Asia Shubha Shanthamurthy, Manager, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Europe, CIS & Africa
The exploitation of shale gas resources is garnering increasing attention in India, which relies on oil imports to fuel its growing economy. In November, India signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Geological Survey for technical assistance to assess shale gas resources and advance energy cooperation between the two countries. ONGC, India’s largest upstream player, is drilling a series of pilot shale gas wells in the Damodar basin. Reliance Industries, the country’s biggest gas producer, recently spent $3.5 billion on three shale gas projects in the United States – some say the deals were as much to acquire shale gas technology and know-how than simply the assets. But other observers believe India’s shale gas timelines are too aggressive and need to reflect the enormous differences between the evolving Indian gas market and the mature U.S. sector. So, is shale gas a real opportunity for India to feed the next generation of gas power plants or is it a pipe-dream? What should regulators and operators do to avoid the experience of coal bed methane (CBM), which after several rounds of auctions is contributing only a miniscule 5 per cent of the Indian natural gas supplies? How should the regulators create a conducive regulatory environment? How should prospective shale gas operators, e.g. power generators and exploration and production (E&P) companies, approach their shale gas strategy? In this article, Samir Verma and Shubha Shanthamurthy of Schlumberger Business Consulting share lessons from the United States and Europe, and give their perspectives on how prospective Indian shale gas operators should position themselves for success, and what the authorities can do to create a favorable environment