The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has put on hold a seismic survey, scheduled to be carried out between the first week of March and July 2024, in the Krishna-Godavari-DWN-98/2 block (Cluster-II), 65 km off Kakinada coast in the Eatern Offshore.
Spread over 7,294 square km, the block in the Krishna Godavari basin is located roughly 35 km off the Kakinada coast, where the maximum depth of water is 3,200 metres. The 98/2 block in Cluster-2A contains reserves of 94.26 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil and 21.75 billion cubic meters (BCM) of associated gas. The Cluster-2 B has an estimated gas reserve of 51.98 BCM.
In a meeting held here on March 11 (Monday) with the ONGC, Kakinada Deep Seaport and Anchorage Port authorities and the people’s representatives, Kakinada Collector Krithika Shukla said that the ONGC had not carried out the seismic survey as of now and there would be no restrictions on the fishing activity along the Kakinada coast.
“We will soon request the Andhra Pradesh government to constitute an expert committee to assess the impact on the livelihood of the fisherfolk due to the proposed seismic survey,” said Ms. Krithika Shukla.
In a letter written to Deputy Director of Fisheries, Kakinada in January, ONGC General Manager (ONGC- Mumbai, Geophysical Services) R.E. Kadam said, “A seismic survey will be conducted in the water depth of 250 metre to 1,250 metre in the KG-DWN-98/2 (Cluster-II) between the first week of March and July. The survey will be done by Norway-based M/s. Shearwater Geo Services”. The Hindu has a copy of the letter.
According to the letter, two vessels—SW Bly (source vessel) and SW Tasman (node/receiver handling vessel)—were proposed to be deployed for the seismic survey in the KG-DWN-98/2 block. At least 54 node/receiver lines with an approximate length of 30km to 35 km each was proposed to be laid on the sea floor.
“We request your cooperation to complete the survey on time by keeping the boats and nets away from the defined operational area during the notified period (March to July, 2024) to avoid any untoward incidents,” said the letter addressed to the Department of Fisheries.
On March 11 (Monday), Collector Krithika Shukla, SP S. Satish Kumar and ONGC official Sanjay Kumar told the fisherfolk and the people’s representatives that the survey had been put on hold.
Kakinada City MLA D. Chandrasekhar Reddy, former MLA V. Kondababu and other officials were present in the meeting.
