Vedanta gets green nod for Rs 12,000 crore project

New Delhi: Mining moghul Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd has received environment clearance for the expansion of its oil and gas operation in Rajasthan that would entail an investment of Rs 12,000 crore, according to an official circular.

The proposal is to expand onshore oil and gas production from the existing 3,00,000 BOPD (barrels oil per day) to 4,00,000 BOPD and 165 mmscfd (million standard cubic feed per day) to 750 mmscfd from the 'RJ-ON-90/1' block located in Barmer and Jalore districts, Rajasthan.

The Union Environment Ministry gave the final clearance to the proposed expansion project after taking into account recommendations of an in-house expert committee.

The environment clearance (EC) is, however, subject to compliance to certain conditions. The EC certificate has already been issued to Vedanta Ltd, the document showed.

The estimated project cost is Rs 12,000 crore. The company aims to implement the project in a phased manner during seven years.

The project involves oil augmentation to produce up to 4,00,000 BOPD and 250 MMSCFD of associated gas from the oil field and natural gas augmentation to produce up to 500 mmscfd.

Total area of the oil and gas block is 3,111 sq km. Out of it, the project presently covers an area of 1,501.7 hectare in Barmer and Jalore districts. Additional 150 hectare of land in Barmer district will be used for the proposed expansion, the company said in its proposal.

The 'RJ-ON-90/1 block' comprises of Vedanta Ltd and state-run ONGC for hydrocarbon exploration, development and production activities in the block, while Cairn Oil and Gas division (part of Vedanta Group) is the operator of the block.