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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday met the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral DK Joshi (Retd.) in the national capital.
Taking it on X, the Home Minister's office wrote, "The Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral (Retd.) D K Joshi met Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri @AmitShah." The Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. In a post on X, the Prime Minister's Office wrote, "Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Admiral D K Joshi, (Retd.) met Prime Minister @narendramodi." Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the Central Government is taking sustained measures to explore and identify crude oil and hydrocarbon reserves in the Andaman-Nicobar Basin, aiming to contribute to the country's long-term energy security and reduce import dependence. Following the introduction of the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), the Government has allocated four blocks for oil and gas exploration in the Andaman-Nicobar Basin, covering approximately 23,261 square kilometres (SKM). Exploratory efforts have resulted in the acquisition of 8,501-line kilometres of 2-Dimensional (2D) seismic data and 3,270 SKM of 3D seismic data in these blocks, and three wells have been drilled in these blocks so far. Furthermore, under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) - X, four blocks with a total area of 47,058 sq. km have been offered in the Andaman Basin. India's Hydrocarbon Resource Assessment Study (HRAS) estimates hydrocarbon resources of 371 million Metric Tons of Oil Equivalent (MMTOE) in the AN Basin. Subsequent to HRAS 2017, a 2D broadband seismic survey was completed in 2024 covering approximately 80,000 line kilometres of India's Exclusive Economic Zone (including in Andaman offshore). This has helped acquire the essential sub-surface data required for identifying prospective hydrocarbon reserves. The government, through Oil India Limited (OIL) has also acquired a total of 22,555 Line Kilometres (LKM) of 2D seismic data in the Deep Andaman Offshore Survey during 2021-22. (ANI)
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