The Andhra Pradesh government has issued a conditional No Objection Certificate to Vedanta Ltd’s Cairn Oil and Gas division for drilling 20 onshore oil and gas wells in Krishna district.
The approval follows a request submitted by the company under the Discovered Small Field Policy 2018.
According to a government order, Vedanta had sought permission to drill wells at 35 locations across various village limits for onshore oil and gas development and production. The request was made to the Water Resources Department as the Bandar Canal passes through the centre of the proposed block. After reviewing the proposal, the government granted permission for drilling at 20 locations, subject to specific terms and conditions.
The order stated that the Engineer in Chief of the Irrigation Department, the Chief Engineer of the Krishna Delta System, and the Collector of Krishna district are required to take necessary action in this regard. It clarified that the No Objection Certificate is issued only from the irrigation perspective and is temporary in nature.
The company must obtain all required permissions from other concerned departments before starting operations. The order also specified that no water shall be drawn from irrigation sources such as the Bandar Canal, the Krishna Delta System canal network, drainage systems, ponds, reservoirs, or any other surface water source.
Cairn Oil and Gas, a division of Vedanta, is India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company. It contributes nearly a quarter of the country’s domestic crude oil output and aims to increase this share to 50 percent through sustainable and responsible operations.