Puri: Underground oil and natural gas deposits were detected at two places in Gop block of Puri district during a survey carried out by Oil India Limited. In the preliminary phase, for extraction of the resources, 37 land owners of eight acres of land identified in Kusupur Mouza have been paid a compensation of Rs 1 crore.
Last year, extensive exploratory drilling and surveys had been carried out at an investment of Rs 1248 crore, including Rs.220 crore in seismic surveys, at five coastal blocks and eight districts i.e. Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, and Balasore.
After surveying 3000 square km of five blocks, oil and natural gas deposits were found at two places in Gop block. Eight acres of land at Kusupur Mouza and another eight acres of land at Chitra Mouza under Mahalpada panchayat were identified through satellite map.
After surveying various coastal districts, Oil India appointed a survey firm Alphageo (India) Limited of Hyderabad to search for underground natural fuel in Astaranga, Kakatpur, Konark, and Gop areas of Puri district.
In the initial phase, 100 feet boring was done at various places identified through satellite images and dynamite blasting was done inside the holes. Sensors were used to photograph the ripples created by the blasting. Similar seismic surveys had been done at around 100 places in Puri district.
