It is said that India has substantial reserves of shale oil and gas, which can feed the needs of the…

Question

It is said that India has substantial reserves of shale oil and gas, which can feed the needs of the country for quarter century. However, tapping of the resource does not appear to be high on the agenda. Discuss critically the availability and issues involved.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

India's shale gas, estimated by the US EIA at 63 to 96 tcf across six basins, is promising but unproven, and water stress, land resistance, costly technology and weak pricing keep it off the agenda. ONGC's in-place estimate of 187.5 tcf contrasts with the USGS's recoverable 6.1 tcf.

**Introduction**

The US EIA estimated India's recoverable shale gas at 63 tcf (2011) and 96 tcf (2013), the source of the "quarter century" claim, yet no commercial shale well has flowed since ONGC's 2011 find near Durgapur, because the resource is uncertain and the hurdles are real.

**Availability: Promising Basins, Uncertain Numbers**

1. **Six basins**: Cambay, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan, Gondwana (Damodar) and Indo-Gangetic basins are shale-bearing, as identified by the DGH.
2. **Estimate gap**: ONGC's in-place 187.5 tcf contrasts with the USGS (2011) figure of about 6.1 tcf recoverable, so the promise is a ceiling, not a proven reserve.
3. **Shale oil too**: The EIA (2013) also assessed about 3.8 billion barrels of recoverable shale oil, mainly in Cambay and Assam-Arakan.
4. **Strategic pull**: With nearly 88% of crude and close to half of gas imported (PPAC, 2024-25), even modest output would ease the import bill.

**Issues That Keep Shale Off the Agenda**

1. **Water intensity**: Fracking needs millions of litres per well in water-stressed Cambay and risks aquifer contamination.
2. **Land rights**: Unlike US landowners who earn royalties, Indian smallholders gain nothing, so dense basins resist acquisition.
3. **Technology**: Horizontal drilling and multistage fracking depend on foreign rigs and service firms, and ONGC's early wells have not shown commercial flows.
4. **Price signal**: The 2013 policy opened only ONGC and OIL blocks, and administered gas prices deterred investment until HELP (2016).

SKETCH: forcefield | Tapping Indian Shale
center: Commercial shale output
driving: Import dependence, Six basins, HELP 2016
restraining: Water stress, Dense land use, Costly technology, Weak price signal

**Conclusion**

Shale is promising but unproven, a slow option rather than an energy fix. Systematic core-sampling surveys, recycled-water fracking and firm environmental norms would let India tap it without trading water security for energy security.

It is said that India has substantial reserves of shale oil and gas, which can feed the needs of the country for quarter century. However, tapping of the resource does not appear to be high on the agenda. Discuss critically the availability and issues involved.

Model answer

Practise this question

Resources and planning38 questions

Ghissu