|
Exploration by oil giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) need not always be for oil and gas. It can be for water too. And in the parched land of Rajasthan, ONGC is doing exactly that. In just two months' time, the oil company's experiment with water in the drought prone Jaisalmer area is all set to become a reality, which it wants to replicate in other parts of the country.
Billed as "ONGC Project Saraswati", the project, under the company's corporate social responsibility drive has been initiated from Rajasthan in its first phase.The state reels under acute water scarcity.
The project is aptly named since the mythical river Saraswati is believed to have vanished following the desertification of the Thar area.
The project aims to find deep aquifers in Rajasthan and other parts of the country. It also includes identification of deeper aquifers not yet exploited by other agencies.
Accordingly, a study has been initiated in western Rajasthan covering 13 districts under an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Water and Power Consultancy Service (India) Ltd (WAPCOS), a government consultant, to identify and delineate broad areas for deep ground water exploration.
Taking a cue from Libya, where water has now been provided to the vast desert there, ONGC hopes to provide water in India.
For centuries, the deserts of southern Libya formed a barrier crossed by caravan trade routes, which followed established tracks from oasis to oasis. Beginning1953, these largely unknown areas were progressively investigated in the search for new oilfields. This led not only to the discovery of oil reservoirs but also large quantities of fresh water.
Four major underground basins have been located during exploratory drilling for oil in Libya containing fresh water at a depth ranging from 800-2,500 meter leading to a gigantic irrigation project, which is now known as Libya's Great Man-Made River Project.
"This project not only quenched the thirst of water-starved Libya but also showed new ray of hope for other parts of the world," said M Rajagopala Rao, the GGM Head Knowledge Management, ONGC, and in-charge of the project here.
Discovery of deep-seated, relatively fresh groundwater under artesian conditions has been reported in the Thar desert especially close to Munnabao-Khokarapar rail line across the border in Pakistan. In village Jumman Samoo of Pakistan, a 12 inch bore drilled up to depth of 1,224 feet encountered deep layer of aquifers ranging from 1,000 ft to 1,200 ft.
In an old well drilled in Lunar village in Rajasthan, not very far off from Jumman Samoo, traces of waters have been found. "We now have got significant success near Jaisalmer town where a well, Saraswati-I, was drilled to a depth of 554 meter. Water in this location is saline, but we will do something to make sure it is utilised optimally," said Rao.
Rao added ONGC, in the second phase, would extend the project to other areas of Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat.
URL: http://www.business-standard.com/search/storypage_new.php?leftnm=3&leftindx=3&subLeft=2&autono=321406 | 
Email this Page