Shale Gas Scenario in India and Comparison with USA

Natural gas extracted from organic rich Shale rock Formations has become the fastest-growing source of Gas in USA and could become a significant new global energy alternative unconventional source. Although the energy industry has long known about huge gas resources trapped in organic rich shales, it is over the past decade that energy companies have combined two established technologies- hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling- to successfully unlock the tight and shale oil/gas resource. A recent study by EIA (Energy Information Administration) assessed 95 shale gas basins in 41 countries. India is one of the countries covered in this study along with China, Canada, Mexico, Australia etc. With current available data, the initial estimates of technically recoverable shale gas resource in these countries is 7299 TCF. At present, the shale gas is not exploited in India. Encouraged by the USA results and preliminary USGS assessment, Govt of India is seriously contemplating to carry out detailed exploration, followed by phased extraction. The Cambay, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery and Damodar valley are the four major basins of shale gas reservoirs as indicated by considerable thickness of shales, sufficient TOC (2 to 6 wt %) content, and good thermal maturity with vitrinite reflectance of more than 1.0. The Vindhyan, Upper Assam, Pranhita-Godavari and Rajasthan basins are other prospective basins that need to be probed by geo-scientific methods. The gas in these shale reservoirs can occur within the natural fractures or pore spaces or as adsorbed gas on the organic matter. The unlocking of domestic shale gas reserves could help India meet its growing energy demand, besides reducing its dependence on expensive energy imports. This is considered as the next generation major energy resource after gas hydrates and coal bed methane. In addition, the development of the domestic shale gas industry could boost the Indian economy.