Business
'Shale gas policy needed in India'
New Delhi, June 21
India needs a long term
shale gas policy that is holistic and incorporates from the experiences
of other countries on issues like gas pricing, environment and land
acquisition, ICICI Securities said in a report on Sunday.
"India
needs a long term shale gas policy, which has to be holistic and
incorporates lessons learnt from the issues of gas pricing, environment
safety, land acquisition, etc. from the experiences of other countries
that are further ahead," the ICICI market wrap said of the commodity
that has changed the energy scenario for the US.
"Shale gas has potential but is not the silver bullet, which will resolve India's energy crisis tomorrow," the report said.
Shale gas refers to natural gas trapped within formations of sedimentary rocks.
Describing
how the shale gas revolution in the US in the new millennium is the
result of technological breakthroughs of more than three decades, the
report pointed out how individual landowners in that country can lease
mineral rights to their property, a right which landowners do not have
in other nations.
"These mineral rights have helped to overcome the issue that has stopped operations elsewhere in the world," ICICI said.
State-run
explorer ONGC has estimated the country's shale gas reserves at 187.5
trillion cubic feet (tcf), spread over the Cambay, Krishna-Godavari,
Cauvery, Ganga and Assam and the Assam-Arakan basins.
"The exploration of shale gas and oil in India is at a nascent stage," the report said.
"ONGC's investments for exploration of shale gas and oil stood at Rs.79 crore till the end of 2014," it added.
Extraction
of shale gas is highly dependent on large scale harnessing of water,
which water acquires additional pollutants, including radioactive
elements, and much of the polluted water remains underground, the report
said.
"High density of population and lack of quality
infrastructure such as waste water management in many areas of the world
make shale extraction difficult," it added.
"Understanding the
challenges around fresh water requirement, environment, natural
calamities, investment incentives, land acquisition, among others, will
allow policymakers to create a more robust policy for India, which will
sustain over the long term," ICICI said.