Hope floats in Bihar as Cairn goes exploring

‘‘We will grant the licence immediately, once we get the required papers from the Centre,’’ says M A Ibrahimi, Bihar Mines Commissioner.

Surveys conducted by several agencies over the past 50 years in the Madhubani, Suapaul, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Madhepura, Samastipur, Begusarai and Khagaria areas have indicated presence of hydrocarbons at levels sufficient for a commercial exploration. However, this is the first time that a company has actually signed up for the same in the region.

‘‘Recent discovery in Salbanhat in Bangladesh suggests success in this part also,’’ says a Cairn release. In the areas bordering the region, in Nepal and Bangladesh, exploration has been successful in the past decade.

Cairn signed a Product Sharing Contract (PCS) with the Union Government on February 6 as per the new exploration licencing policy. As the next and final step, it sought a state government licence on February 23.

‘‘The area taken up for exploration is 15,550 sq km. This one project has the potential to change Bihar entirely,’’ says a senior official.

Cairn Petroleum India Ltd and Cairn Energy Search Ltd are based in Chennai and have operations in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan already. Officials of the company refused to divulge the investment amount in Bihar. If Cairn does strike black gold beneath Bihar, the state can hope for a change in its fortunes.

Besides royalties in the range of 10-12 per cent of the worth of the product, a gas-based power plant in north Bihar can have a spiralling effect on the state’s drowsy economy.

After Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar in 2000, the only heavy industry left in the state is the sick Barauni power plant. TISCO’s Jamshedpur and SAIL’s Bokaro steels plants now fall in Jharkhand, as do most of the mining and heavy engineering manufacturers.

On the other hand, investment is almost nil in Bihar, while nearly 80 per cent of its small and medium industries are either facing losses or closure, according to a survey by the Bihar Industries Association.