Indian energy multinational Essar Oil is in the process of ramping up production of coal bed methane by four times.

“While 120 wells have been already placed on gas production, additional 142 wells have been drilled and presently are at various stages of the hydrofracking-completion-dewatering cycle for gas production increase up to 1.2 million scmd (standard cubic meters per day) over the next few months and 2.5-3 million scmd finally,” Essar Oil CEO (E&P) Manish Maheshwari told PTI.

Raniganj, the flagship asset in CBM, has already achieved production of 0.62 million scmd, he said.

The project was the first of its kind in India aimed to responsibly produce methane gas from the coal seams located 1,000 meters or deeper below the ground, said Maheshwari.

Maheshwari remained optimistic on completing the development programme ahead of the May 2016 deadline as per the contract with the government.

Essar, in an earlier communication, had said the total investment outlay in the project would be around Rs 4,000 crore.

The company was yet to begin supply of the feedstock to its anchor customer fertiliser company Matix Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, having the world’s largest single stream plant for ammonia and urea in the state.