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Study Hints At Hydrocarbon Reserves In B’putra North Bank
A pioneering research by a team of energy exploration experts has found promising hydrocarbon potential in the north of the Brahmaputra, defying traditional assumptions that oil and gas reserves in the state were limited to its southern parts.
This has come at a time when the hydrocarbon-rich state is poised for major expansion in its energy sector with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself pitching for energy investments in the state, which delivers 50% of India’s onshore natural gas, at the recently held Advantage Assam 2.0 investment and infrastructure summit.
The state has signed MoUs worth Rs 850 billion investment commitments for hydrocarbon exploration in the state over the next five years from OIL, ONGC and Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd.
Dr Annapurna Boruah, senior associate professor at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, alongside Dr Sumit Verma, associate professor at the University of Texas Permian Basin (USA), Dr Gaurav Gairola, a researcher from KAUST Saudi Arabia, Anuj Gogoi, and Dr Abdul Rasheed, a scientist from the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI), carried out the study from 2019 and the findings indicate the presence of hydrocarbon reserves in the northern part of Assam.“Until now, all of Assam’s commercially producing oil fields were concentrated in the southern part of the Brahmaputra. This discovery, however, suggests untapped reserves in the north bank, sparking fresh hopes for new energy exploration ventures,” Dr Boruah told TOI adding, Assam’s Himalayan foothill regions including particular areas of Gohpur, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji have hydrocarbon potential.
“In the foothill regions extraordinary observations were made — many gas seepages were analysed which are flowing continuously over many years. This finding, along with the presence of active gas seepages, strengthens the case for potential hydrocarbon reserves in the region,’ she said.
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