 Hello and welcome to NewsClick. Today we have with us Mr. P.K Rajan, who is an office bearer of the Tamil Nadu Science Forum and has written many books regarding the hydrocarbon and other related issues in the state of Tamil Nadu. He is having 30 years of experience in various countries in the area of oil exploration and processing. We will discuss with him today about the issues related with the hydrocarbon exploration policies allotted to various companies in the delta region of Tamil Nadu. Welcome sir. The issue of hydrocarbon has been repeatedly brought up by the various sectors in the state of Tamil Nadu. So, why is the opposition increasing in the recent times against these projects? Yeah, to start with the even the term they what they are using is misleading. Hydrocarbon includes everything which is coming from the oil and natural gas stream. For example, the crude oil, natural gas, methane, shale oil, shale gas, tight gas, all these things will come under the common nomenclature of hydrocarbon. But they are interpreting as if the hydrocarbon includes only the conventional crude oil and conventional natural gas. So, the problem starts there because in this area, there are certain amount of natural gas and conventional crude oil. But in addition to that, large area of Cauvery basin has lignite in it and along with that the coal bed methane, CBM. In addition to that, some of the areas in Cauvery bed, Cauvery delta has tight oil, tight gas as well as shale oil and shale gas. Now, whenever people are objecting for exploration and extraction of shale oil, shale gas or coal bed methane, government agencies and including some officials from companies like ONGC, they are telling it is only a hydrocarbon. Meaning that it is only a conventional oil and conventional gas which is unbelievable because they know very well what they are looking for. They know very well what they are exploring for because the well digging process itself is different for both conventional oil, conventional gas as well as the other non-conventional hydrocarbons. The depth is very different and all the methodologies, materials used for conventional wells as well as for the non-conventional wells are very different. But these people are, I mean they are misleading, they are camouflaging their activities by the term hydrocarbon. So, the objection starts from there. In addition to that, there are other reasons why these are all being opposed. As you know, the conventional wells or conventional extraction of natural gas or crude oil is a relatively simpler affair. Though that itself will be having some dangers, they themselves have some eventualities which may lead to environmental pollution, especially when it is being done in an area like Tanjore, like Cauvery Basin, where there is a very very active agriculture is going on, not one or two years or thousands of years. But the non-conventional hydrocarbons, whether it is coal-bed methane or shale oil, shale gas, they it involves lot of process which will be very detrimental to the fertility of the soil and the fertility if it is affected and it will take hundreds of years to reclaim if anything goes wrong. So, in an area where the agriculture is very active, where still it continues to be the main profession, main livelihood of the people, there is a genuine apprehension about these operations. So, that is the reason why it is very intense opposition for whatever goes in the name of hydrocarbon there in Cauvery Delta area. So, the organizations like Tamil Nadu Science Forum with which you are associated with, is opposing only the non-conventional method of extraction and exploration or both the conventional and non-conventional methods of exploration. Now, we cannot give a clean sheet even to the non-conventional, I mean the conventional oil and gas. Being in an area where the agriculture is very intense and where it is still continued to be a livelihood of lot of people and it is one of the area where in Tamil Nadu still agriculture is going on. So, we have to be I mean we have to be very careful even with conventional oil and gas because there are instances where even the conventional wells and conventional pipelines got disrupted, got damaged and it has created a havoc in the agricultural area. To my knowledge, there are some wells, conventional wells in which H2S, it is a poisonous gas, hydrogen sulphide is beyond the limits and we heard O&GC has close to those wells, but there is no any official report about all these things. But O&GC would have done it, but we cannot expect that kind of operation or this kind of termination by a private concern. So, who is doing that conventional wells and what will be their approach to what extent they will be ready to incur the loss, what extent they will be ready to in a forego the investment which they have made also matters. So, conventional oil, conventional gas also to be I mean to be considered with a little bit of caution in this particularly in this area and very particularly when private operators are involved. Do you mean that the non-conventional process is more dangerous to the environment? Absolutely, absolutely. There is no doubt about it. All over the world it is well recognized and there is no any dispute that non-conventional extraction is much more dangerous, much more environmental degrading possibilities. So, there is no doubt about it, nobody is disputing it. They are telling it can be done even without affecting the environment which is unbelievable because the process and the well digging methodology and the way in which the what we call as the produced water will be disposed of. These are all not well explained and whatever indication they have given in their documents is unworkable and whatever indication they have given will be detrimental to the ongoing agricultural activities which are going in that area. So, certainly the non-conventional exploration as well as production is much more dangerous and it is absolutely unacceptable in an area like Cauvery Delta because of the other activities which are going there. What are most countries like even the US as well as the European, many of the European countries are opposing the hydrofracking process which is the basic function required for extraction of the non-conventional sources. So, what will be the impact of such an exploration and extraction in the Cauvery basin area? Now, hydrocracking requires a lot of water, hydro means water only. Water will be used as the force to smash the inbuilt rock formation within the wells. Those rock formation has to be scattered so that the oil or gas which is held in its place in this rock structure will be released for people to collect it in the over ground well heads. So, the hydrocracking involves certain fluid with certain chemicals in it which has many dangerous elements in it. Some of the chemicals will affect the fertility of the soil when it comes out and some of the chemicals are certified as carcinographic even in the US environmental agencies reports. Now, how the water which will be used for hydrocracking when it is pumped out of the wells, how they will be stored and how they will be disposed is a question which they are not answered properly. They are telling this water will be stored in ponds with polyethylene sheet as the bottom layer of the ponds. It may be okay in a place like US in certain states where there is no agriculture, where there is no any dense population but in a place like Tanjavur or in a place anywhere there in the Kaviri delta where the population density is very high. In those places having a pond which is this kind of chemicals and this kind of water with a say artificial pond cannot be maintained at all. Even in the US and wherever they have done this in those areas there are pictures, there are pictures which before and after the operations. The entire area look like a you know a deserted area. So, in these areas like Kaviri delta maintaining the ponds and preventing people the local villages or even the cattles and others going and you know using this water is very difficult. It cannot be prevented at all because there are a large number of wells will be required, large number of ponds are required scattered over the large area and maintaining and safeguarding the water from other usages as well as see page because of the damage of the polyethylene layer which is laid at the bottom of the tank is very difficult. This is not practical in India, it is very impractical in a place like Kaviri delta. So, because of these additional reasons the opposition to hydro cracking, hydro fracking become more I mean it is genuinely a genuine apprehension among the people. So, the opposition is very strong and it there and it is reasonable