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Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Ltd (EOGEPL), Indias pioneering unconventional hydrocarbon (Coal Bed Methane) player, announced crossing 0.8 mmscmd of gas production and is successfully marching towards the benchmark of 1.0 mmscmd post commissioning of the Urja Ganga Pipeline.

EOGEPL was the first to cross the much anticipated threshold of 1.0 mmscmd of gas production a few years ago, demonstrating the initial potential of the Raniganj East Block. The company is also committed to contribute towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of becoming a "Gas Based Economy" in the next decade, by ramping up its CBM gas production.

Pankaj Kalra, CEO and Director of EOGEPL, said: "The importance of domestic gas in the energy basket for any developing country like India is extremely crucial considering the uptrend in gas demand, price and rising import bills. EOGEPL has always led the path and is strategically focused on the development of Unconventional Hydrocarbons in India. The unavoidable delay in the GAIL Urja Ganga trunk line caused numerous challenges for us. However, steady efforts and technological applications to ramp-up gas production to double the production and cross 0.8 mmscmd has brought us back on track. Our next milestone remains 1.0 mmscmd and we are putting concerted effort to reach it at the earliest."

Crossing the 0.8 mmscmd mark has aligned the production curve with the forecast available enabling EOGEPL to further escalate field activities and efforts toward the next goal of 1.0 mmscmd. The future ramp-up will be an integration of re- racturing and revival of wells, alongside fresh technological applications, many of which will boast of its first time application in CBM in India and would be in line with EOGEPL's pioneering endeavours of CBM in the country.

EOGEPL had pioneered CBM exploration in the early 1990s and helmed CBM development with commercial success in the state of art Raniganj East CBM Block in West Bengal, India.

As of now, EOGEPL operates around 350 wells in the block and since May, 2021 with a systematic approach of well revival, technology application and close monitoring, the company has been consistent with the ramp-up forecast from renowned CBM experts.

The field management within the Covid window with various services/logistics limitations had also been a challenge that was successfully mitigated.