Rajasthan Hydrocarbon Basin: Oil-Natural Gas

The Rajasthan Hydrocarbon Basin is a sedimentary basin located in western Rajasthan with a geographical extent of about 1,50,000 square kilometres.  The basin is spread over 14 districts under 4 petroliferous basins.

Crude Oil Production in Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a significant producer of crude oil in India. The State contributes about 22-23% (7 million metric tonnes per annum) of total crude oil production (32 MMTPA) in India and is the second largest producer after Bombay High which contributes about 40%.

Commercial Production of crude oil commenced from Mangla Field on 29th August, 2009 and at present about 1,15,000 barrels of oil per day is being produced from 14 fields i.e. Mangla, Bhagyam, Aishwarya, Saraswati, Raageshwari, Kameshwari and other satellite fields.

Rajasthan Basin Location:

Rajasthan Basin forms the eastern flank of Indus geosyncline and comprises the sedimentary tract to the west and northwest of Aravallis upto Indo-Pakistan border. This pericratonic basin also forms a part of the great Thar Desert.

Rajasthan Basin: Sub-Basins:

Rajasthan Basin has been sub-divided into four potential Petroliferous basins,  separated from each other by basement ridges/faults. These four Basins are spread over in 14 Districts of Western & Eastern Rajasthan. The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural gas has upgraded the first three petroliferous basins into category- I, i.e. equivalent to the Bombay High, Cambay Basin and Assam, which are potential for hydrocarbons prospects.

Jaisalmer Basin

• Age of Jaisalmer basin: Mesozoic & Cenozoic
• Districts: Jaisalmer and part of jodhpur
• Type of Basin: Pericratonic Basin
• Depressions: The Jaisalmer Basin has been subdivided into 3 depressions:
  • Shahgarh Depression
  • Kishangarh Shelf
  • Miajlar Depression

Barmer – Sanchore Basin

• Age of Barmer-Sanchore Basin: Tertiary
• Districts: Barmer and  Part of Jalore.
• Type of Basin: Intracratonic Basins
• Depressions: The Barmer-Sanchore Basin has been subdivided into 2 depressions:
  • Barmer Depression in the north and
  • Sanchor Depression in the south
• Oil Fields: 38 oil fields discovered in Barmer-Sanchore Basin namely Mangla, Bhagyam, Shakti Ashwariya Guda, Saraswati, Raageshwari, Kaameshwari, Vijaya, Vandana, GRF, NI, Bhagyam South-1, NH-2, N-R-4, NE, GS-V-1 & Tukaram.

Bikaner – Nagaur Basin

• Age of Bikaner-Nagaur basin: Paleozoic
• Districts: Bikaner ,Nagaur, Ganganagar/ Hanumangarh and Part of Churu
• Type of Basin: Intracratonic Basins
• The major tectonic element in Bikaner- Nagaur Sub-basin is an almost east-west trending basement ridge, ‘the Bikampur Arch’.

Vindhyan Basin

• Districts: Kota, Jhalawar, Baran, Bundi and Part of Bhilwara etc.
• Vindhyan basin covers three main regions: Son valley, Bundelkhand and Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Refinery Project:

HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. (HRRL) is a Joint Venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Government of Rajasthan (GoR) with an equity participation of 74 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

Highlights of the Refinery Project:

• 9 MMTPA Refinery cum Petrochemical Complex at Pachpadra, Barmer has been commenced on 16th January, 2018.
• The cost of the project is ₹43,129 crore and is funded on a debt equity ratio of 2:1.
• The refinery will produce products of BS-6 standard.
• The refinery also has a first of its kind in India – refinery integrated with Petrochemical complex.