Reliance Industries has got green approval for drilling 8 additional exploratory wells for ascertaining the reservoir capacity and commercial viability of hydrocarbons off the coast of Tamil Nadu at a project cost of Rs 800 crore.

The exploratory rights has been awarded to the company for hydrocarbons prospecting in the offshore block DY-III-D5 under the New Exploration Licensing Policy-III.

RIL has already got the environment clearance to drill 11 exploratory wells in this block.

At present Reliance Industries has drilled nine wells and discovered hydrocarbons in three wells. As the seismic data and the drilling campaign shows presence of hydrocarbons in the block, RIL is planning to carry out 8 additional exploratory well drilling to establish the reservoir capacity.

A senior government official has said in statement that “Based on the recommendation of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), the Environment Ministry on June 30 gave environment clearance for the RIL’s exploratory drilling project in Tamil Nadu.”

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