May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
ITANAGAR, Apr 29: Oil India Limited chairman and managing director Ranjith Rath has proposed tapping into the geothermal energy potential of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam by reviving deep bore wells originally drilled for hydrocarbon exploration in the two states.
This suggestion was made during a meeting held at the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The meeting, held in response to directives from NITI Aayog, aimed to establish a "Consortium of Geothermal Energy" with the objective of harnessing 10 MW of geothermal energy by 2030.
Ministry of Earth Sciences union secretary Dr M Ravichandran chaired the session.
After extensive discussions, it was decided that Oil India Limited and NGRI would collaborate to conduct an MT survey and mobilize drill rigs for drilling operations at potential sites in Arunachal Pradesh.
Additionally, the Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies, along with Oil India Limited, will conduct research studies on these wells after a Joint Working Group meeting on geothermal energy.
State Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies director, Tana Tage, presented detailed action plans and progress towards harnessing geothermal energy from the Arunachal Himalayas.
He noted that Arunachal offers significant potential for geothermal energy, with over 100 hot spring sites identified during a joint survey conducted by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, and Geotropy, Iceland.
Geochemical tests conducted at IIT Roorkee and cross-verified by the CIL Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, have shown promising results.
The meeting, attended by CSIR-NGRI director Prakash Kumar, chief scientist Abhay Ram Bansal, and others, emphasized the need for robust collaborations among national research institutes, state organizations, industries, and other stakeholders to evaluate the technical feasibility and economic viability of the proposed work.
