India is set to complete an exhaustive survey of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in a few months, after the central government aligned all stakeholders, including defence and space agencies, to release 99% of the areas prohibited for oil exploration and production due to security concerns. It is understood that the first proper survey of the Andaman offshore area, which is considered to be a petroliferous basin with prospects for oil and gas resources, is nearing completion. Data has been acquired for 23,055 line kilometres (LKM). Similarly, survey work for 38,711 LKM in the Western sector and 8,235 LKM in the Eastern Sector are nearing completion. The next step is likely to be a survey to cover the limits of the Indian Extended Continental Shelf (ECS). The survey was started in November last year following a joint effort by stakeholders such as the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Defence and the Space Department, who were aligned to release areas that had been prohibited earlier. An empowered coordination committee oversaw the process and the National Maritime Security Coordinator, part of the National Security Council Secretariat, played a critical role in expediting security clearances. In the past, 42% of the Indian EEZ of 2.36 million square kilometres was under a 'no go' zone. After exhaustive consultations with the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the 'no go' zone was brought down to 24,832 square kilometres. Safeguards were also put in place to indemnify government departments and the forces from any damage suffered in oil exploration and production. The survey is expected to yield the discovery of significant oil and gas resources in the Indian EEZ. According to broad estimates, the Indian EEZ should have 17 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (BTOE) of oil and gas, of which 7.4 BTOE had been discovered prior to the survey. The current EEZ survey is being conducted by Shearwater Geoservices on the Eastern and Western offshore and Seabird Exploration in the Andaman region. Also Read NBCC (India) posts net profit of 1136.3 million Emami Realty posts net loss of 177.9 million