The Andhra Pradesh government has issued a conditional No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Vedanta Limited’s Cairn Oil & Gas division for drilling 20 onshore wells in Krishna district, providing a key regulatory clearance for the company’s upstream oil and gas development plans in the state.

According to a recent government order, Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil & Gas Division) was awarded the development of an onshore oil and gas field under the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, 2018. The company had sought permission to drill wells at 35 locations across various village limits within the block, which is intersected by the Bandar Canal, requiring clearance from the state’s Water Resources Department.

After examining the proposal, the government approved the issuance of an NOC for drilling 20 wells at the specified locations, subject to a set of terms and conditions outlined in the order. The clearance has been granted from an irrigation perspective and is temporary in nature, with the company required to secure all other statutory approvals from relevant departments before commencing operations.

The order specifies that no water shall be drawn from irrigation canal sources, including the Bandar Canal, the Krishna Delta System canal network, drainage channels, ponds, reservoirs or any other surface water bodies. The Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation), Water Resources Department, Vijayawada, the Chief Engineer of the Krishna Delta System and the Collector of Krishna district have been directed to take necessary action to implement the decision.

Cairn Oil & Gas, a division of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company, contributing around a quarter of the country’s domestic crude oil output. The company has stated its ambition to raise this contribution to 50 per cent through sustainable and responsible development practices.