Patna (Bihar Times): The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will soon start exploration for crude reserves in Bihar’s Ganga basin. The oil giant was recently awarded contract to explore oil and natural gas in one block measuring 2,537 square kilometer in Purnea by the government of India. Bihar is one of the 55 blocks selected for oil exploration under the new petroleum exploration licence floated by the government of India. This is not the first time that the ONGC will be undertaking the exploration work here. It has worked in the Ganga basin for a year-and-a-half and had even carried out several drillings in Bettiah, (West Champaran), Purnea and Madhubani.

Earlier, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy Search Ltd (CESL) was commissioned for the first phase of exploration of 15,500 square kilomertre area in Bihar’s Ganga basin. Cairn Energy has been granted a seven years licence for the Purnea basin comprising a dozen districts covering Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Supaul, Madhepura, Saharsa, Khagaria Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, parts of Patna and Munger.

The multi-national oil giant has started collecting seismic data in its Ganga valley block in the state. The data is being collected through an aeromagnetic survey. A specially designed aircraft has been hired from Canada for this purpose. This block is considered an important area as not too much exploration has been carried out in the region, though there have been evidences of hydrocarbon seepages over the years the sources in the mines department said.