The Hindu Business Line : NGRI uses new technique to explore oil in Kutch region

In the search for oil, the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), has with support from the US and Russia, tried out a new technique in the Gulf of Kutch region of Gujarat for the first time.

The tool is called Marine Magnetotelluric (MMT) technique. A Russian research vessel — Boris Petrov was engaged and six US scientists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) along with scientists from the NGRI and National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, scientists took part in the exploration recently.

Survey programme

A major survey programme has been launched by the Hyderabad-based NGRI with funding support from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), for the first time in the country using the technique.

According to Dr T. Harinarayana, Project Leader from NGRI, the integrated survey involves using Magnetotellurics along with marine seismics which provides a consistent and reliable subsurface model.

Under the present project, data was acquired at 30 MT locations in the offshore region of Kachchh at depths ranging from 15-2,000 m.

The deployed instruments have recorded the signals at sea bottom for two days continuously before being recalled to the sea surface through a remote operation, he explained.

NGRI has been using the MT technique on land for the last three decades, especially in geologically problematic areas, such as volcanic rock covered areas and also the Himalayan thrust zones for oil exploration, according to a release from the Institute.

geophysical method

MT is a geophysical method to study the distribution of conductivity in the Earth. High conductive zones hint at fluids. It measures magnetic and electric fields.

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