Lok Sabha Question No. 1862 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-28
Subject: Hydro Carbon Industries
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: P.R. Natarajan

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1862 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 th  JULY 2022

## HYDRO CARBON INDUSTRIES

## 1862 .  SHRI  NATARAJAN P.R.:

## पेोिलयम व ाकृितक गैस मंी

## Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  oil  exploration  done  for  hydro  carbon  industries  in  the  country particularly  in  the  North-Eastern  States,  State-wise  along  with  the  number  of  oil  fields discovered;
- (b) the  details  of  human  deaths  and  ecological  damages  caused  so  far  due  to  such exploration, State-wise; and
- (c) the safety measures taken by the Government to avoid such ecological damages and human deaths?

## ANSWER

पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंालय म रायमंी ( ीरामेरतेली )

## MINISTER OF STATE  IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI  RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a) :  Details of oil/gas fields in North-Eastern States are as under:

|   Sl. No. | North-Eastern States   |   No. of oil/gas fields |
|-----------|------------------------|-------------------------|
|         1 | Arunachal Pradesh      |                      11 |
|         2 | Assam                  |                      91 |
|         3 | Nagaland               |                       3 |
|         4 | Mizoram                |                       2 |
|         5 | Tripura                |                      15 |

Source: ONGC, OIL and DGH

(b)  & (c ): Environment Clearance(EC) is mandatory before carrying out any  drilling activities  for  oil  &gas.  The  Environment  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  is  pre-condition  for obtaining  EC.  EIA  report  identifies  environmental  aspect  and  impacts  arising  out  of proposed drilling project and proposes mitigation measures. The concerned State Level Environment  Impact  Assessment  Authority  (SEIAA)  provides  safeguards  on  such activities  by  stipulating  specific  conditions.  The  industries/projects  are  required  to comply with all the environmental protection measures and safeguards outlined in the Environmental  Clearance.  During  public  hearing  for  EC,  consultation  is  held  with stakeholders, including local public. Directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT), if any, are complied with. In addition, Consent to Operate is also obtained from State Pollution Control Board.

As  per  reports  submitted  to  Oil  Industry  Safety  Directorate  (OISD),  10  numbers  of human deaths in the state of Assam has been reported in last three years. No human death has been reported in other states of North-East.

Oil  Industry  Safety  Directorate  (OISD),  a  technical  directorate  under  the  Ministry  of Petroleum  &  Natural  Gas  (MoP&NG)  formulates  safety  standards.    Oil  and  Gas companies follow such standards and take suitable measures to ensure safety. OISD carries  out  regular  safety  audits  and  update  Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs) regularly.  MoP&NG  has  also  released  revised  Disaster  Management  Plan  (DMP)  2021 incorporating lessons learnt from recent incidents. Further, OISD has conducted webinars on 'Safety Management System' and 'Awareness program in 2021-22 for E&P operators.

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