BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Friday assured full support from State machinery to make the bidding for coal bed methane (CBM) blocks a success. Launched in September 2021, the Special CBM bid round, which was to be completed by February 20, has been extended for one month. Bid submission for the special round will end on March 15.
At investors’ meet here, Principal Secretary of Industries department Hemant Sharma explained the efforts and policies made by the State government for investment opportunities.“Single window system has been made for early clearances required for the CBM blocks. While an extensive network of gas pipelines, road and train connectivity have been developed for transportation of extracted gas, 100 per cent FDI has been allowed apart from full marketing and pricing freedom,” he said.
Odisha has proposed two blocks in Sundargarh, Sambalpur and Angul. Block 1 in Sundargarh is spread over an area of 191 sq km in IB Valley coalfield and Block 2 in Sambalpur and Angul is spread across 693 sq km area in Talcher coalfield. Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas G Srinivas acknowledged the essence of enhancing gas production to move towards a gas-based economy and the importance of CBM in the State.