India's Hydrocarbon Outlook – 2022-2023

116 DGH: 3 DECADES OF UNLOCKING INDIA'S HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL Andaman Seismic Programme: Andaman Basin is a potential petroleum proliferous basin located in the south-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal in the proximity of the most prolific petroleum provinces of Southeast Asia. Andaman Basin including the total EEZ boundary area measures 6,64,080 sq. km. and comprises a major chunk of the unappraised area of the offshore sedimentary basins of India. The basin has been appraised to the extent of 36% with 71,290 LKM of 2D seismic and 13,710 Sq. Km of 3D seismic data and 22 exploratory wells, in the eastern part of the basin. The 2D/3D seismic or well data acquired in the basin was scanty and the data coverage was moderate to sparse. The area surrounding the Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) islands has significant potential for oil and gas, but the exploratory activities could not be taken up there because most of the area was designated as a "No-Go" Zone (0.37 million sq. km. of the "No-Go" zone area falls in the Andaman Basin). Pursuant to the directives of the Island Development of Authority (IDA) and the decisions taken by the Empowered Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet Secretariat, DGH formulated a plan to carry out seismic survey for thepurposeof gatheringgeo-scientific data for evaluation of the hydrocarbon resource potential of the areas in close coordination with the Department of Space and associated safety directives related to the areas concerned. Accordingly, DoS and DGH laid down an appropriate framework to ensure that there is no impact on the Space Mission of Government of India, while side by side, scientific assessment is carried out of the prolific hydrocarbon resource potential of the Andaman Basin. For comprehensive appraisal of Andaman offshore,DGHformulatedaplantoacquire22,500 LKM 2D Broadband seismic data acquisition, processing, and interpretation thereof covering basinal area of approx. 281,613 Sq.Km. The project has been implemented through M/s Oil India Limited. A total of 22,500 LKM seismic data was acquired in deep Andaman offshore and the whole data is uploaded on NDR portal. Figure 3.7: Map showing 2D seismic lines of Andaman seismic programme