Bokaro district marked a historic day on Wednesday as it became the first district in Jharkhand to execute a petroleum mining lease contract. The contract was awarded to the ONGC-CIL Consortium for the Jharia CBM Block, covering an area of 39.48 square kilometers.
The lease agreement was executed by Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jadhav in the presence of officials at the district collectorate's office. This lease, granted for the extraction of Coal Bed Methane (CBM), a natural gas, has been approved by the Jharkhand government for a period of 20 years.
The event saw the participation of Additional Collector Md. Mumtaz Ansari, District Mining Officer Ravi Kumar Singh, ONGC’s CBM Asset Manager, representatives from CIL, and other dignitaries.
It is noteworthy that Coal Bed Methane (CBM) is methane trapped in coal seams, which can be extracted through controlled depressurization. CBM fields have 6-7 times the gas-holding capacity of conventional fields. As a clean energy source, CBM is used industrially and is extracted by drilling wells to 1000-1200 meters, assessing target zones, and using perforation and hydro-fracturing to enhance gas flow. Initially, wells produce water, followed by gas. If gas flow is consistent, a development plan is implemented, involving additional drilling, pipeline installation, and gas collection facilities.
