Found it ..hidden GGR news, but there was another article tieing in GGR with an exclusive right to extract
AHMEDABAD, INDIA -- An Indian state-run energy company has made the country's biggest gas discovery, an offshore bubble big enough to double the country's gas production, a state government minister said yesterday.
The find made early this month by Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. was estimated at 20 trillion cubic feet and thought to be worth about $50-billion (U.S.), said Gujarat's Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.
The discovery was made below the sea floor off India's southeastern coast, in the Krishna Godavari basin off the Kakinada coast of Andhra Pradesh state, he said, speaking in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The find "promises to double the gas production of the country and also have an impact internationally," Mr. Modi said.
"The GSPC team of experts detected gas . . . after intensive drilling up to 5,061 metres into the seabed," Mr. Modi said. "This is a major achievement for us that was accomplished in 300 days of non-stop exploration work.
"Now that the reserve has been unearthed, GSPC will focus on how to prepare the gas reserve for commercial production."
GSPC plans to invest $345-million in the Krishna Godavari basin project, a senior company official said.
The discovery comes as India is looking to sign a $4.5-billion deal with Iran for an overland gas pipeline project that has been strongly opposed by the United States because of its concerns about Tehran's nuclear program.
Negotiations on the pipeline began in 1994 but made little headway because of tensions between Pakistan and India.
However, the two energy-starved countries have been engaged in a peace process since early 2004, and relations are at their best in years.
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