Every cloud has a silver lining and every adversity hides an opportunity. That is precisely the situation that gave rise to GAIL's Exploration and Production (E&P) section.
The business climate saw a significant shift as the Indian economy opened up in year 2000. For GAIL, competition in our core business i.e. Midstream and downstream national gas distribution came as a result of liberization. The legislative support requiring GAIL to have secured sources of natural gas was no longer a viable option. Existing contractual field reserves were depleting rapidly. We needed to locate new sources; the writing was clearly on the wall.
GAIL entered the E&P sector for strong reasons other than only ensuring natural gas supplies:
- Integration in supply-chain
- Large gap in Gas demand and supply
- National Gas security
- Balancing of Business portfolio
- Global opportunity
From the beginning, GAIL (E&P) had a portfolio of 46 blocks altogether. However, as a result of portfolio optimization, the portfolio currently consists of the following 12 blocks in total which are followed below:
| E&P Stage | Blocks/ Location | Basin | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production (5 Blocks) |
On land: CB-ONN-2000/1 | Cambay Basin | GSPC |
| On land: CB-ONN-2003/2 | Cambay Basin | GSPC | |
| *Offshore: A1 & A3, Myanmar | Rakhine Offshore | POSCO International | |
| On land: CB-ONN-2010/11 | Cambay Basin | GAIL | |
| On land: CB-ONN-2010/8 | Cambay Basin | BPRL | |
| Appraisal / Development (4 Blocks) |
On land: AA-ONN-2002/1 | Assam-Arakan Basin | JOGPL Pvt Ltd |
| Offshore: GK-OSN-2010/1 | Gujarat Kutch Basin | ONGC | |
| Offshore: CY-OS/2 | Cauvery Basin | Invenire Energy Pvt Ltd | |
| On land: AA-ONN-2010/2 | Assam-Arakan Basin | OIL | |
| Exploration (3 Blocks) |
On land: CB-ONHP-2017/12 | Cambay Basin | GAIL |
| On land: RJ-ONHP-2021/1 | Barmer-Sanchor Basin | GAIL |
*Overseas asset
GAIL is also a member of National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) being coordinated by DGH and is actively involved in activities related to Gas Hydrate exploration.
