India Strikes It Rich; Minister Announces Gas Reserve Off Andaman Island

New Delhi: India has found a natural gas reserve off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This was confirmed by Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

According to the minister, natural gas has been found in the Sri Vijayapuram 2 well at a distance of 9.20 NM (17 km) from the shoreline on the east coast of the Andaman Islands at a water depth of 295 metres and target depth of 2,650 metres.

“An ocean of energy opportunities opens up in the Andaman Sea,” Puri posted on X.

“Initial production testing of the well in the range of 2,212-2,250 metres has established the presence of natural gas with intermittent flaring. The gas samples were brought by ship to Kakinada, were tested and found to be 87 per cent methane,” he added.
Puri went on to say how establishing the presence of hydrocarbons in the Andaman basin is a major step in confirming the long-held belief that the Andaman basin is rich in natural gas,

“This is in line with discoveries in the entire area from Myanmar in North to Indonesia in the south in this belt,” he said.

The size of the gas pool and commercial viability of the discovery will get verified in the coming months, the minister added.

“Under the deepwater mission announced by PM Narendra Modi on Independence Day, large number of deepwater exploration wells are planned in our offshore basins in order to find new discoveries and fully exploit our hydrocarbon reserves,” Puri said.

This occurrence of natural gas will help the country take forward its exploration ambitions in coordination with global deepwater exploration experts, and will be a significant milestone in India’s journey through ‘Amrit Kaal’, the minister emphasised.

“This occurrence of natural gas will help us take forward our exploration ambitions and is a significant milestone in our journey through Amrit Kaal,” Puri said.