The Andhra Pradesh government has granted a conditional No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Vedanta Ltd’s Cairn Oil & Gas division for drilling 20 onshore oil and gas wells in Krishna district, PTI reported, citing a government order.
Vedanta had sought permission after being awarded the development of an onshore oil and gas field under the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, 2018. The company approached the Water Resources Department as the Bandar Canal runs through the proposed block.
“After careful examination of the matter, the government hereby issues No Objection Certificate to M/s Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil & Gas Division) for drilling 20 wells at the specified locations, subject to stipulated terms and conditions,” the order said.
The NOC has been issued only from an irrigation point of view and is temporary in nature, the order noted, adding that the company must obtain all other statutory approvals before starting operations.
It also specified that no water shall be drawn from irrigation canals, including the Bandar Canal, the Krishna Delta System canal network, drainage channels, ponds, reservoirs or any other surface water sources.
The Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation), the Chief Engineer of the Krishna Delta System, and the Krishna district collector have been directed to take the necessary action.
Cairn Oil & Gas, a division of Vedanta Ltd, is India’s largest private oil and gas producer, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country’s domestic crude oil output, and plans to further scale up production.
