Parliament Question: Abandoned Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Sites

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1915 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31st July, 2025 Abandoned Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Sites

1915. Shri G M Harish Balayogi: पेट(cid:332)ोिलयम और (cid:366)ाकृ ितक गैस मं(cid:361)ी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a) the details regarding oil and gas exploration and production sites (onshore and offshore) that have been declared abandoned across the country during each of the last five years, State- wise and contractor-wise;

(b) the details of such abandoned sites where site restoration has been completed is currently in progress and is yet to be initiated, State-wise and contractor-wise;

(c) the details of the funds allocated and utilised for site restoration activities by oil and gas companies during each of the last five years, company-wise;

(d) whether the Government has issued any comprehensive guidelines for conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) specific to the decommissioning of oil and gas assets and if so, the details thereof;

(e) if not, whether the Government proposes to formulate such guidelines and if so, the details thereof; and

(f) the details regarding the monitoring and financial accountability mechanisms currently put in place to ensure scientific, timely and environmentally sound site restoration of abandoned oil and gas assets? ANSWER पेट(cid:332)ोिलयम और (cid:366)ाकृ ितक गैस मं(cid:361)ी ((cid:373)ी सुरेश गोपी) MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROELUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

(a) to (c): During last five years (FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25), a total of 721 oil and gas exploration and production sites (onshore and offshore) have been declared abandoned. The details regarding these sites and where site restoration has been completed or is currently in progress or is yet to be initiated during each of the last five years, State- wise and contractor- wise is provided at Annexure A.The details of the funds allocated and utilised for site restoration activities by oil and gas companies during each of the last five years, company-wise is provided at Annexure B.

(d) & (e): As informed by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), according to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006, as amended, Terms of Reference (ToR) are issued to the projects for preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) incorporating a decommissioning and abandonment plan for restoration of the drill sites to its near original condition.

As per the EIA Notification 2006, offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities are categorized as ‘A’ under Item 1(b), necessitating prior clearance from the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) at the central level. The EAC appraises the EMP and subsequently may stipulate additional site-specific environmental safeguards. Based on the recommendations of the EAC, the Environmental Clearances (EC) are granted to the project by the MoEFCC.

(f): The restoration of abandoned oil and gas sites is governed through a combination of regulatory oversight, technical scrutiny and financial safeguards through OISD and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) who serve as the approving authorities for the submitted Site Restoration or Decommissioning Plan. This inter-alia includes well plugging, dismantling of surface infrastructure, waste management and restoration of the site to its original or an environmentally acceptable condition. To ensure financial accountability, the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and Revenue Sharing Contracts (RSCs) include provisions for the establishment of a Site Restoration Fund (SRF) or Abandonment Fund, into which operators contribute over the productive life of the field. Fund release proposals from the SRF account are however subject to satisfactory decommission work progress and with the approval of the DGH.

Further, the compliance and monitoring of the EC is dealt by IA-Compliance & Monitoring Division (C&MD) of the MoEFCC through its Regional Offices (ROs) and Sub-Regional Offices (SROs). In accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) established, ROs/SROs conduct periodic inspections and prepare monitoring reports that are submitted to MoEFCC for detailed evaluation and follow up action.

******Annexure A Referred to Part (a) to (c) for Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1915 to be answered on 31.07.2025 regarding Abandoned Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Sites Details of Site Abandoned & Restoration During last Five Years (2020-21 to 2024-25) No. of Sum of No.

No. of wells wells for of wells for No. of wells for which Operator State which SR which SR Abandoned SR is in is yet to be Completed progress initiated AWEL Western Offshore 1 1 0 0 BPRL Gujarat 3 3 GAIL Gujarat 1 1 GSPC Gujarat 10 10 0 0 M/s Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited Gujarat 1 0 0 1 OIL Assam 89 88 1 0 Eastern Offshore 8 9 0 0 Mizoram 0 2 1 1 Orissa 2 2 1 0 Rajasthan 15 19 0 0 Arunachal Pradesh 2 2 0 0 ONGC Andhra Pradesh 24 0 0 24 Assam 86 0 0 0 Eastern Offshore 1 1 0 0 Gujarat 265 115 13 47 Jharkahnd 2 0 0 2 kutch- Saurastra_offshore 1 1 0 0 Madhya Pradesh 10 9 1 Rajasthan 12 6 2 4 Tamilnadu 17 26 1 0 Tripura 18 1 11 6 West Bengal 2 1 1 0 Western Offshore 116 116 0 0 PMT-JV Western Offshore 0 38 0 0 RIL Eastern Offshore 7 7 0 0 Selan Exploration Technologies Ltd Gujarat 2 2 0 0 Vedanta Assam 8 1 0 7 Gujarat 10 10 Rajasthan 8 8 Total 721 448 44 111

Source: DGHAnnexure B referred to Part (a) to (c) for Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1915 to be answered on 31.07.2025 regarding Abandoned Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Sites Details of the funds allocated and utilised for site restoration activities During last Five Years (2020-21 to 2024-25) (Rs.) Operator 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Fund Fund Fund Fund Allocated Fund Utilized Allocated Fund Utilized Allocated Fund Utilized Allocated Fund Utilized Fund Allocated Fund Utilized PMT-JV 1,29,36,74,254 1,29,66,98,304 20,05,41,379 20,20,66,552 2,64,73,10,437 2,36,36,66,925 0 28,43,30,358 OIL 1,00,00,000 40,89,520 50,00,000 63,47,757 50,00,000 71,98,049 54,42,878 1,61,74,244 5,59,79,948 5,76,65,809 ONGC 44,00,00,000 23,00,00,000 2,67,00,00,000 1,09,00,00,000 3,19,00,00,000 Total 1,30,36,74,254 1,74,07,87,824 20,55,41,379 43,84,14,309 50,00,000 2,67,71,98,049 2,65,27,53,315 3,46,98,41,169 5,59,79,948 3,53,19,96,167

Source: DGH