The Oil and Natural Gas Commission on Saturday launched a project to survey oil in Bihar. The Rs 150 crore project was inaugurated by chief minister Nitish Kumar in Purnia.
Extensive survey and exploration work will be taken up in 2,537 square kilometre area covering parts of Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar districts of north-east Bihar. The Commission will drill three wells and invest Rs 150 crore till 2015.
The chief minister expressed the hope that considerably large reserves of oil and natural gas would be found in the Gangetic basin of Bihar. He said that the post-Jharkhand Bihar has very little natural resources left and the likely discovery of oil would to a large extent compensate that loss. He felt that oil would go a long way to change the fortune of the state.
The presence of Gondwana rocks under the soil in the region has increased the hope of the presence of oil as wherever these rocks have been found, including in Assam, oil reserves have been struck.
ONGC’s chief general manager A K Biswas thanked the Bihar government for giving a licence to it for starting the exploration within three months of submission of application. He said the ONGC believed that the exploration campaign would unlock the hydrocarbon potential of the Purnia Gangetic basin.
Source : Bihar Times
19th November, 2007