Q. In which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found?

  1. Cambay Basin
  2. Cauvery Basin
  3. Krishna-Godavari Basin

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  • 1 and 2 only
  • 3 only
  • 2 and 3 only
  • 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Notes:

  • Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has identified six basins as potentially shale gas bearing. These are:
    • Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Gondwana, Krishna-Godavari, Kaveri, and the Indo-Gangetic plain.
  • Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich resources of petroleum and natural gas.
  • Shale rocks are usually found adjacent to rocks containing useable/ drinking water known as ‘aquifers’.
  • Shale Gas is trapped under low permeable rocks.
Shale Gas
Shale oil
  • Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.
  • These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas.
  • The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those derived from crude oil.
  • Shale production in the world
    • Russia and the US are among the largest shale oil producers in the world.
    • With a surge in shale oil production in the US, it has played a key role in turning the country from an importer of crude to a net exporter in 2019.
  • As per the US EIA 2015 report, India has got technically recoverable shale gas of 96 trillion cubic feet.
    • The recoverable reserves are identified in Cambay, Krishna – Godavari, Cauvery, Damodar Valley, Upper Assam, Pranahita – Godavari, Rajasthan and Vindhya Basins.
    • The ONGC has drilled the first exploratory shale gas well in Jambusar near Vadodara, Gujarat, in Cambay basin during October 2013.