US energy giant ConocoPhillips may next month finalise a partnership with the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for exploration of shale gas resources in India.
“We have given them all data we have on shale gas acreage... Based on their analysis and experience, they will now bring their understanding,” Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC said on the sidelines of World Energy Policy Summit here.
ONGC and ConocoPhillips had earlier this year signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore and develop shale resources in India, North America and other geographies.
A team of officials from the US energy giant is likely to visit ONGC next month to discuss collaboration in shale gas development, he said.
“We will finalise a joint exploration plans once we get a fix of resources,” he said.
ONGC in first phase plans to explore Damodar, Cambay, KG and Cauvery basins for Shale gas.
While ConocoPhillips has extensive experience in shale gas exploration and exploitation in the US and holds large acreage position, ONGC’s endeavours in shale gas are at a nascent stage.
The companies intend to initiate the cooperation in shale gas exploration through joint studies of opportunities in the identified areas.
ONGC has so far drilled four exploratory wells on its Damodar Basin blocks.
An integrated study has shown that the Damodar Basin has a potential of about 35 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of which 8 tcf is recoverable.
ONGC has 33 deepwater blocks in East and West coasts of which 29 are in the East coast. ONGC has a number of discoveries in the East coast in the KG and Mahanadi basins.