E-Paper
Centre exempts extended reach drilling from forest clearance
The nod came a year after the Union environment ministry granted a conditional in-principal approval to the proposal by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon
The Centre has accepted the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH)’s report recommending that extended reach drilling (ERD), a technology for drilling longer horizontal wells at a high inclination angle to reach underground oil and natural gas deposits instead of vertical wells, in forest areas be exempted from prior forest clearance.
The nod came a year after the Union environment ministry granted a conditional in-principal approval to the DGH proposal. The ministry had then ordered a study on the impact of the technology.
In its report submitted on March 9 last year, which was shared with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for an impact analysis on wildlife, DGH said there can be “indirect” impacts of such drilling such as forest fires resulting from oil leakages; soil surface contamination etc.
The report further said that no direct impact of the technology was observed on fauna.
While WII cautioned about the likely impact on fragile ecosystems, it also provided recommendations for oil and gas extraction in wildlife rich areas at a Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) meeting on August 1, 2022.
The FAC again considered the matter in its July 17, 2023 meeting where both reports of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon and the general SOP suggested by the WII were discussed.
“Based on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee and acceptance of the same by the competent authority of the MoEFCC, the Central Government, hereby, accept the report submitted by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon recommending to exempt the Extended Reach Drilling Technology from the purview of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to undertake drilling in the forest areas, located outside the Protected Areas and Eco-sensitive Zones, subject to fulfillment of the following conditions,” a letter dated September 12 sent from MoEFCC to all state governments states.
Among conditions for the general approval, the MoEFCC said that the station for ERD be set up outside the forest area at a minimum distance of 500 meters, the State Government shall ensure that the recommendations made by WII are complied with, and that the exemption considered for the ERD technology will not be applicable if the drilling area falls inside the Protected Areas notified under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and Eco-Sensitive zone of Protected Areas.
HT had reported on August 22 last year that WII had cautioned about the impact of ERD on wildlife. It said that drilling sites close to important wildlife habitats should avoid operations during peak activity hours, such as early morning and late evening. It also made some general recommendations to be considered while considering ERD near wildlife sensitive areas which will have to be followed by user agencies according to the September 12 letter of MoEFCC, seen by HT.
The WII has now been asked to carry out a detailed study on animal distribution, activity, behaviour, and response to anthropogenic disturbance following which the institute will submit detailed and site-specific recommendations to mitigate the adverse effect of drilling and exploration on wildlife species.
According to India’s Hydrocarbon Outlook published by DGH, it has been pursuing a distinct and separate category for the oil and gas sector for environmental clearance. MoEFCC has acceded to DGH’s request by creating a separate head as “Mining of Mineral Oil” to cater to the hydrocarbon projects on PARIVESH web portal, it states.
HT reached out to DGH for a comment but did not get one immediately.
