Context:

Vedanta Ltds. Cairn Oil & Gas has discovered oil in the Barmer district of Rajasthan. The company has notified the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) about this discovery. This oil was discovered by Cairn Oil & Gas in a block that was given to them under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

Overview:

=> The Block RJ-ONHP-2017/1 is located in Chohtan and Gudamalani Tehsil of the district of Barmer.

=> This block covers 542 square kilometers of area and was one of the company’s 41 blocks that were awarded in the 2018 OALP-I round of bidding.

=> In the block, Vedanta owns 100 percent participating interest.

=> This discovery is the third such discovery that the company has notified under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy.

=> ‘Durga’ is the name given to this discovery.

About Directorate General of Hydrocarbons:

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) is a regulatory body that falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. DGH was created in the year 1993 by a Government of India Resolution under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. DGH was created to promote the effective management of natural gas and oil resources while taking into account the safety, environmental, economic, and technological aspects of the industry.

About Open Acreage Licensing Policy:

Under this policy, companies are allowed to mark and explore areas they want for gas and oil. The interested companies are required to submit an expression of interest for any particular area that they want to explore throughout the year but such interests are accumulated only three times a year. The sought-after locations are then auctioned off.