The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Assam government on a fresh plea by Oil India Limited seeking to overturn the rejection of its proposal for Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) linked to hydrocarbon extraction beneath Assam's Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Verdictum reported.

Source: Verdictum

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana took note of submissions by senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Oil India, that the plea was extremely urgent as the public-sector company was unable to carry out exploration work in the area. Dwivedi said the area near the park is estimated to hold about three per cent of India's total hydrocarbon reserves.

Source: Verdictum

Dwivedi told the court the exploration would be done through Extended Reach Drilling, going about 4,000 metres below the surface, and would not harm the park's flora and fauna. The bench said it may permit the exploration work based on the research and development report of the authorities, including the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The matter will now be taken up after November 17.

4,000 mDepth of proposed drilling below the park
0.069 haForest land diversion sought in Tinsukia
~3%Share of India's hydrocarbon reserves OIL cites for the area
After Nov 17Next hearing window

The fresh petition follows the court's September 2 order, which had allowed Oil India to withdraw its earlier application and file a new plea, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. In its plea, the company has challenged the Forest Advisory Committee's decision and the Environment Ministry's refusal, in an order dated August 2, 2024, to approve diversion of 0.069 hectares of forest land for the project in Tinsukia district.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Oil India says the authorities wrongly applied the Supreme Court's April 26, 2023 judgment prohibiting mining within national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and within one kilometre of their boundaries, arguing that drilling from pads located outside the park to reach deposits 3,500 to 4,000 metres below it cannot be equated with conventional mining. It has also relied on the court's 2017 orders, which had permitted sub-surface extraction beneath the park using ERD technology, subject to conditions and safeguards.