Essar Oil & Gas Ltd. secured five Coal Bed Methane (CBM) blocks in India on 15 October 2026. The Government of India awarded the blocks under the Special CBM (SCBM) Bid Rounds of 2025 and 2026, and contracts were signed at a ceremony chaired by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.
Coal-bed methane
Coal-bed methane is natural gas trapped within coal seams and is classified as an unconventional hydrocarbon resource. Unlike conventional natural gas, which accumulates in the pore spaces of reservoir rocks, CBM is held within coal. Production commonly involves removing groundwater from the coal seam to lower pressure and release methane.
CBM blocks and basin locations
The five blocks cover about 1,281 square kilometres and contain an estimated 6.6 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas-in-place resources. Two blocks are in the Raniganj region of West Bengal, two are in the Godavari Valley of Telangana, and one is in the Singrauli basin of Madhya Pradesh.
The two new Raniganj blocks cover about 330 square kilometres. They add to Essar’s existing acreage of approximately 500 square kilometres in the region, taking its total Raniganj acreage to about 830 square kilometres. The company has producing assets and established infrastructure in Raniganj.
India’s CBM resource base
Important Facts for Exams
- India’s estimated Coal Bed Methane resource base is 2,600 billion cubic metres (BCM).
- CBM is an unconventional source of natural gas found in coal seams.
- Gas-in-place refers to the estimated quantity of gas present in a reservoir, not necessarily the quantity that can be commercially recovered.
- The five blocks are located in West Bengal, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
The five awarded blocks contain an estimated 6.6 TCF of gas-in-place resources. Essar Oil & Gas Ltd. CEO Pankaj Kalra said the company plans to use its Raniganj expertise and infrastructure to develop the resources.
