Page 6 - AsianOil Week 24 2021

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ONGC seeks green light for Tamil

Nadu exploration campaign

PROJECTS & INDIA’S largest developer Oil and Natural Gas
COMPANIES Corp. (ONGC) has reportedly applied for envi-
ronmental clearance from the Tamil Nadu gov-
ernment to drill 15 exploration wells in the state.
The state major has sought permission from
Tamil Nadu’s State Environment Impact Assess-
ment Authority (SEIAA) to drill 10 wells in Ari-
yalur district and five in Cuddalore district, local
daily The Hindu reported on June 17.
It added that the company had submitted
executive summaries of the projects, toposheets,
pre-feasibility reports and maps of the proposed
exploratory wells along with the applications,
with its submission for the Ariyalur district
delivered on June 14 and its Cuddalore proposal
delivered on June 15.
Environmental activists have objected to
the plans, however, with Tamil Nadu organisa-
tion Poovulagin Nanbargal (which translates as
Friends of the Earth) saying ONGC was working
against local farmers’ interests. Nagaland State to shut down three of the compa-
Poovulagin Nanbargal spokesperson G Sun- ny’s wells earlier this month.
darrajan told The Hindu that the proposals came Authorities reportedly ordered the wells in
despite the fact that Tamil Nadu Chief Minis- Dimapur district’s Piheku, Tokishe and Nikihe
ter M K Stalin had asked Indian Prime Minister villages to be suspended on June 1, local news-
Narendra Modi to recall the federal government’s wire PTI reported on June 17. PTI’s sources have
upstream bid round for Pudukottai district. said the three sites lie in a disputed area with
“It shows that ONGC has been pushing ahead Assam State.
with its plans in spite of the state government’s “Therefore, you are requested to submit clar-
stand on the issue. The state government should ification in this matter... at the earliest. Further,
summarily reject the proposal to protect the the concerned authority is hereby asked to stop
environment and the interest of the farmers,” all activities in the above said area in the mean-
Sundarrajan said. time,” Dimapur Deputy Commissioner Rajesh
ONGC’s drilling requests in Tamil Nadu fol- Soundararajan was quoted as saying in the writ-
low the wake of a decision by local authorities in ten letter to ONGC at the start of June.™

India’s fuel, gas demand bounce back

PERFORMANCE INDIA’S oil product and natural gas demand has to roll back their social quarantine efforts in the
bounced back this month as the country begins wake of improving infection numbers, launch-
opening up amid a continuing fall in new daily ing a staggered reopening of markets, malls and
coronavirus (COVID-19) case numbers. restaurants.
Gasoline demand climbed by 13% month After peaking at more than 400,000 new
on month in the first two weeks of the month COVID-19 cases per day in early May, India
to 904,900 tonnes, PTI reported on June 16, cit- reported just 67,208 new cases in the 24 hours
ing preliminary data compiled by the country’s to June 17.
state-run fuel retailers. Diesel sales, meanwhile, India’s gas consumption, meanwhile, is also
climbed by 12% to 2.48mn tonnes in the June showing green shoots of recovery this month,
1-15 period. The newswire noted, however, that with state-run utility GAIL (India) revealing on
gasoline and diesel demand were down 3.5% and June 9 that demand had stabilised after sharp
7.5% year on year respectively. drops in the preceding two months.
The figures are the first monthly increase GAIL chairman Manoj Jain told a news brief-
since March and come as various states begin ing on June 9 that consumption in the first week

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 17•June•2021