Singareni Collieries To Bid For Coal Bed Methane

Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has been advised to bid for exploration opportunities in coal bed methane resources identified in the Singareni region. The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas held discussions with the chairman and managing director of SCCL, Buddhaprakash Jyoti, and encouraged participation in the forthcoming auction for selected blocks. SCCL was described as having over 13 decades of extensive experience in coal exploration and as possessing technical expertise relevant to coal seam gas evaluation.

Senior ministry officials indicated that three major blocks in the Singareni region have been identified for potential development and that additional blocks have been located across various states, including the Pranahita–Godavari Valley region in Telangana. The officials advised SCCL to consider the exploration auction alongside other interested parties and to assess its operational capacity for concurrent projects. The meeting was presented as part of wider efforts to coordinate state and central resources for energy sector development.

Preliminary assessments put the total estimated availability of methane gas resources in the three identified blocks at approximately 19 billion cubic metres (bn cubic metres). The ministry intends to conduct an auction shortly to facilitate exploration activities, with procedural details to be announced ahead of the bidding process. Officials characterised the initiative as an important step towards increasing domestic gas availability and supporting upstream energy infrastructure.

The initiative was linked to the broader Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and was framed as contributing to self-reliance in the oil and energy sectors. The SCCL management indicated that the proposal will be examined and that a decision on participation will be taken following internal review. The delegation at the meeting included the additional director general of the ministry, Sachiv Kumar, and other senior officials who participated in discussions on technical and policy aspects.

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