For the first time in the history of the oil sector in Assam, OIL (Oil India Ltd.) has started oil and natural gas exploration in lower Assam. The Directorate of Mines and Minerals, Assam, expects that this venture will not only improve the crude oil production in the state but will also improve the revenue earning of the department.
Earlier, oil exploration in Assam was confined to the upper Assam and Barak Valley districts.
According to sources in the Directorate of Oil and Mines, OIL has started exploration in the lower Assam and in Dima Hasao districts recently. The Department of Mines and Minerals has approved OIL for the exploration of oil and natural gas in five OALP (Open Acerage Licensing Policy) blocks, including two from the lower Assam districts. "If the blocks become promising, the department will earn more revenue with the production of more crude oil," a source in the directorate said.
The blocks where oil exploration has started recently are: a 2445.30-square-kilometre block in Barpeta, Nalbari, Baksa, and Bajali districts; an 1840.87 sq km block in Barpeta, Baksa, Tamulpur, and Kamrup districts; an 115.49 sq km block in the Biswanath district; a 2405.12 sq km block in the Lakhimpur district; and a 1234.42-square-kilometre block in the Dima Hasao district.
The Directorate of Mines and Minerals is one of the most revenue-earning directorates in the state under the administrative control of the Mines and Minerals Department. Up to February of fiscal 2022-23, this directorate collected revenue amounting to Rs 38.2381 billion, mostly from the oil sector.
