Vedanta gets greenlight from Andhra Pradesh government to drill 20 onshore oil and gas wells

The Andhra Pradesh government has granted a conditional ‘No Objection Certificate’ to Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil and Gas Division) for drilling 20 onshore wells in Krishna district.

As per a recent Government Order, Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil and Gas Division) has submitted an affidavit stating that their company has been awarded the job of developing the Black Oil and Gas Field under the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, 2018.

They also requested the Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Department to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for drilling wells at 35 locations in the block located on various village limits for Onshore Oil and Gas Development and Production as the Bandar Canal passes through the middle of the proposed block.

“After careful consideration of the matter, the government issues ‘No Objection Certificate’ to M/s Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil and Gas Division), Mumbai, for drilling 20 wells at the locations mentioned in paragraph (2) above, subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in paragraph (3) above,” the order said.

It added that Chief Engineer (Irrigation), Water Resources Department, Vijayawada, Chief Engineer, Krishna Delta System, Vijayawada and Collector of Krishna District will take necessary action accordingly. According to the decision, NoC can be issued only in terms of irrigation and is completely temporary in nature.

The applicant will obtain all necessary permits from the relevant units in accordance with the norms before starting the activity. It stated that water will not be drawn from irrigation canal sources such as Bandar Canal, KDS canal network, drainage network, ponds, reservoirs or any other surface water source.

Cairn Oil & Gas, a division of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company, contributing nearly a quarter of the country’s domestic crude production, with a vision to increase this contribution to 50 percent through sustainable and responsible practices.