Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) initiates massive seismic survey in Bay of Bengal for hydrocarbon exploration

Key facts

• The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) floated bids on 14 May for a large-scale seismic survey project across multiple basins in the Bay of Bengal.
• The survey regions include Bengal-Purnea, Mahanadi, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, and the Andaman offshore regions along the east coast of India.
• The project involves 2D Broadband Marine Seismic and Gravity-Magnetic Data Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation using specialised survey vessels towing streamers.
• The survey coverage includes 45,000 Line Kilometres (LKM) for Bengal-Purnea and Mahanadi, 43,000 LKM for the Andaman Basin, 43,000 LKM for Krishna-Godavari, and 30,000 LKM for Cauvery.
• The geological assessment indicates that the Bengal Basin holds sedimentary layers exceeding 10 kilometres in thickness, while the Andaman region shares similarities with gas fields in Myanmar and Indonesia.