Onshore Oil Exploration (Drilling Phase) Cambay Basin … · Onshore Oil Exploration (Drilling...

Onshore Oil Exploration (Drilling Phase)

Cambay Basin CB-ONN-2005/2 Patan, Gujarat

Draft EIA Report

Gujarat Pollution Control Board

Submitted by

November 2010

Indian Oil Corporation Limited

DRAFT EIA REPORT

Submitted to: Gujarat Pollution Control Board

Submitted by:

Indian Oil Corporation Limited

November 2010

Onshore Oil & Gas Exploration

(Exploratory Drilling)

CAMBAY BASIN, BLOCK CB-ONN-2005/2 GUJARAT

EIA Report for Exploratory Drilling- Cambay Basin

SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL ii

Environmental Impact Assessment

Onshore Oil & Gas

(Exploratory Drilling)

Cambay Basin

Block CB-ONN-2005/2

November 2010

Task Title Sign Date

Prepared by Kankana Das, SENES India, Delhi

22.11.10

Reviewed & Authorized by

Mangesh Dakhore, Head, ESRM Vertical, SENES India

24.11.10


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL iii

Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................12 1.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................15 1.1 Brief Outlook of project...............................................................................................15 1.2 Location and Area of the Seismic Block .....................................................................15 1.3 Requirement of EIA.....................................................................................................16 1.4 Objective of the EIA Study..........................................................................................17 1.5 Scope of the EIA Study ...............................................................................................18 1.6 Structure of the EIA Report .........................................................................................23 2.0 Regulatory and Legal Framework ...............................................................................25 2.1 National Environmental Policies .................................................................................25 2.2 National Legal Provisions for Oil and Gas Projects ....................................................26 2.3 Environmental Clearance and Permitting ....................................................................28

2.3.1 Submission and Approval of EIA as per Production Sharing Contract...........28

2.3.2 Administrative Permissions as per the Petroleum Exploration License (PEL)29

2.3.3 Environmental Clearance as per EIA Notification ..........................................29

2.3.4 Consent to Establish and Operate – No Objection Certificate (NOC).............30

2.3.5 Permission for water uptake.............................................................................30

2.3.6 License for Storage of Petroleum Products & Explosives...............................31

2.4 Siting of Project and Physical Occupation ..................................................................31 2.4.1 Project Siting....................................................................................................31

2.4.2 Prevention of Damage to Adjacent Properties and the Environment ..............32

2.5 Design Process & Equipment/Material Selection........................................................33 2.5.1 Noise Standards and Controls for Equipment..................................................33

2.5.2 Flaring Specifications ......................................................................................33

2.5.3 Design of Water Pollution Control System .....................................................34

2.5.4 Drilling Wastes & Chemicals ..........................................................................34

2.5.5 Hazardous Wastes Management ......................................................................35

2.5.6 Contractor Requirements .................................................................................36

2.6 Project on Environmental Considerations ...................................................................36 2.6.1 Wild Life Protection under Wildlife Act .........................................................36

2.6.2 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 ..37

2.6.3 Operation of Motor Vehicles ...........................................................................38


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL iv

2.7 IOCL Environment Policy ...........................................................................................38 3.0 Description of Project ..................................................................................................40 3.1 Overview......................................................................................................................40 3.2 Objective of Proposed Drilling Activity......................................................................41 3.3 Location & Description of Drilling Wells ...................................................................42 3.4 Accessibility to the Block ............................................................................................44 3.5 Site Settings of the Exploratory Block & Surrounding Area.......................................45

3.5.1 Part A ...............................................................................................................45

3.5.2 Industries and Commercial Infrastructure in the surrounding area .................46

3.6 Project Activities Involved in Exploratory Drilling ....................................................47 3.6.1 Site Selection ...................................................................................................48

3.6.2 Land acquisition...............................................................................................48

3.6.3 Site & Access road preparation........................................................................48

3.6.4 Site Preparation................................................................................................49

3.6.5 Drilling Activities ............................................................................................50

3.6.6 Well evaluation ................................................................................................56

3.6.7 Completion of drilling......................................................................................56

3.6.8 Decommissioning & closure of wells ..............................................................57

3.7 Utilities & Resource Requirements .............................................................................57 4.0 Description of the Present Environment ......................................................................60 4.1 Land .............................................................................................................................60

4.1.1 Land use pattern...............................................................................................60

4.1.2 Site details of 5 km radius area ........................................................................62

4.1.3 Topography and Drainage................................................................................63

4.1.4 Physiography and Geology..............................................................................63

4.1.5 Occurrence of Land Subsidence ......................................................................65

4.1.6 Soil Condition ..................................................................................................66

4.1.7 Seismicity of the area.......................................................................................68

4.2 Water quality and water availability scenario..............................................................69 4.3 Noise Condition ...........................................................................................................74 4.4 Traffic Condition .........................................................................................................76 4.5 Air Quality ...................................................................................................................79

4.5.1 Climate and meteorology.................................................................................79

4.5.2 Ambient Air Quality: .......................................................................................82


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL v

4.6 Biological Environment ...............................................................................................90 4.6.1 Terrestrial Ecosystem.......................................................................................90

4.6.2 Aquatic Ecosystem...........................................................................................97

4.7 Socioeconomic Environment .......................................................................................98 5.0 Environmental Impacts ..............................................................................................103 5.1 Impact Evaluation Methodology ...............................................................................104 5.2 Impact Assessment & Mitigation Measures ..............................................................109

5.2.1 Potential Impact on Land and Land Use........................................................110

5.2.2 Potential Impact on Soil Quality....................................................................111

5.2.3 Potential Impact on Surface Water ................................................................113

5.2.4 Potential Impact of Aquifer & Ground Water Quality ..................................115

5.2.5 Potential Impact on Noise Quality.................................................................116

5.2.6 Potential Impact on Air Quality.....................................................................118

5.2.7 Potential Impact on Ecology..........................................................................125

5.2.8 Potential Impact on Socio -Economic Environment......................................126

6.0 Environmental Monitoring Programme.....................................................................145 7.0 Additional Studies......................................................................................................153 7.1 Pubic Consultation.....................................................................................................153 7.2 Emergency and Disaster Management ......................................................................153

7.2.1 Technological Emergencies ...........................................................................153

7.2.2 Spill Management ..........................................................................................154

8.0 Project Benefits..........................................................................................................155 8.1 Improvement in the physical infrastructure ...............................................................155 8.2 Employment potential................................................................................................155 8.3 Improvement in the future economy..........................................................................155 9.0 Environmental Management Plan & Framework ......................................................156 9.1 Overview....................................................................................................................156 9.2 Environment Management Plan.................................................................................156

9.2.1 Site Planning, Designing & Equipment Selection Phase...............................156

9.2.2 Site Preparation Phase....................................................................................162

9.2.3 Drilling and Testing Phase.............................................................................164

9.2.4 Site Decommissioning and Closure ...............................................................165

9.2.5 Transportation Management ..........................................................................166

9.2.6 Social Management........................................................................................168


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL vi

9.2.7 Occupational Health Surveillance Programmes for employees and labourers 169

10.0 Summary & Conclusion.............................................................................................171 10.1 Salient Features of the Project ...................................................................................171 10.2 Overall Justification for Implementation of the Project ............................................172 10.3 Conclusions................................................................................................................172 11.0 Disclosure of Consultants ..........................................................................................173 11.1 SENES Consultants Limited......................................................................................173 11.2 SENES Capability......................................................................................................174

11.2.1 Brief CVs of the Personnel for the EIA Study...............................................175


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL vii

List of Tables Table No. Page No.

Table 1-1: Compliance of ToR Points .....................................................................................18

Table 2-1: Regulatory Requirements Associated with Oil and Gas Drilling at CB-ONN-2005/2 ......................................................................................................................................26

Table 3-1: Description of well .................................................................................................42

Table 4-1: Land Use Distribution of the Exploratory Block ...................................................62

Table 4-2: Soil Sampling Locations ........................................................................................66

Table 4-3: Results of Soil Sample Analysis ............................................................................68

Table 4-4: Ground Water Monitoring Results .........................................................................71

Table 4-5: Surface Water Monitoring Results .........................................................................73

Table 4-6: Noise Monitoring Results.......................................................................................74

Table 4-7: Traffic Analysis at T1.............................................................................................77

Table 4-8: Traffic Analysis at T2.............................................................................................78

Table 4-9: Climatological Summary for IMD Station at Ahmedabad (1951-1980)...............79

Table 4-10: Summary of Meteorological Monitoring Data.....................................................81

Table 4-11: Frequency of Stability Classes Over Monitoring Period......................................81

Table 4-12: NAAQS Standard for Residential Areas ..............................................................82

Table 4-13: Air Quality Monitoring Results of PM10..............................................................83

Table 4-14: Ambient Air Monitoring Results of SO2..............................................................84

Table 4-15: Ambient Air Monitoring Results of NOx.............................................................85

Table 4-16: Ambient Air Monitoring Results of HC...............................................................86

Table 4-17: Percentage Distribution of Methane and Non-Methane Based HC at villages ....87

Table 4-18: Ambient Air Monitoring Results of CO...............................................................88

Table 4-19: List of mammals recorded during survey.............................................................95

Table 4-20: Lists of Common Avifauna recorded during survey ............................................96

Table 4-21: List of Recorded Species and Supportive Habitat Within Proposed Project Area & Buffer Zone..........................................................................................................................97

Table 4-22: List of reptilian species recorded along proposed project ....................................97

Table 4-23: List of villages in Part A.......................................................................................99

Table 4-24: Population, Household, Males, Females, SC, ST...............................................100


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL viii

Box 5.1: Environmental Aspects and Impacts.......................................................................103

Box 5.2: Types of Impacts Considered for Impact Assessment ............................................104

Table 5-1: Consequence Categories and Criteria...................................................................105

Table 5-2: Likelihood Categories and Criteria ......................................................................108

Table 5-3: Environmental Impact Significance Criteria........................................................108

Table 5-4: DG Set Specification ............................................................................................119

Table 5-5: Impact of emission of SPM from DG sets (24 hourly average)...........................120

Table 5-6: Impact of emission of SO2 from DG sets (24 hourly average) ............................121

Table 5-7: Impact of emission of NOx from DG sets (24 hourly average) ...........................122

Table 5-8: Impact of emission of CO from DG sets (8 hourly average) ...............................123

Table 5-9: Consequences Category Scoring Matrix .............................................................130

Table 5-10: Likelihood Category Scoring Matrix .................................................................135

Table 5-11: Environmental Impact Significance Matrix .......................................................140

Table 6-1: Proposed Monitoring Requirements for IOCL Drilling Project...........................146

Table 9-1: Standards for treated domestic sewage disposal ..................................................159

Table 9-2: Onshore Discharge Standards for Liquid Effluent from Oil Drilling ..................160

Table 10-1: Salient Features of the Project............................................................................171


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL ix

List of Figures Figure No. Page No.

Figure 1-1: Site Location of Cambay Basin (CB-ONN-2005/2) .............................................16

Figure 3-1: Extent of CB-ONN-2005/2 Exploration Block.....................................................41

Figure 3-2: Location map of the Cambay Basin (CB-ONN-2005/2) ......................................43

Figure 3-3: Location map of the Cambay Basin (CB-ONN-2005/2)…contd…......................44

Figure 3-4: Connectivity map of the Cambay Basin (CB-ONN-2005/2) ................................45

Figure 3-5: Flow chart showing various phases of drilling activities......................................47

Figure 3-6: Model of Drilling Process .....................................................................................48

Figure 3-7: Typical Configuration of a drilling rig..................................................................51

Figure 3-8: Flow chart for Drilling mud & solid discharge.....................................................54

Figure 4-1: Land Use Map Of Part A of the Block..................................................................61

Figure 4-2: Satellite Imagery for 5 km area of Part-A.............................................................63

Figure 4-3: Regional Stratigraphy of Cambay Basin...............................................................64

Figure 4-4: Regional Stratigraphy of Cambay Basin...............................................................65

Figure 4-5: Map Showing Soil Sampling Locations................................................................67

Figure 4-6: Seismic Zoning Map of India showing Project Site .............................................69

Figure 4-7: Surface and Ground Water monitoring Locations ................................................70

Figure 4-8: Map Showing Noise Monitoring Locations..........................................................75

Figure 4-9: Graphical Representation of Traffic Survey at T1................................................77

Figure 4-10: Graphical Representation of Traffic Survey at T2..............................................78

Figure 4-11: Wind Rose for Meteorological Monitoring Data................................................80

Figure 4-12: Graphical Representation of PM10 ......................................................................83

Figure 4-13: Graphical Representation of SO2 ........................................................................84

Figure 4-14: Graphical Representation of NOx.......................................................................85

Figure 4-15: Graphical Representation of HC.........................................................................86

Figure 4-16: Graphical Representation of CO.........................................................................88

Figure 4-17: Map showing Air monitoring locations ..............................................................89

Figure 5-1: Risk Matrix and Impact Significance..................................................................109

Figure 5-2: Isopleths for SPM Emission from DG sets .........................................................120

Figure 5-3: Isopleths for SO2 Emission from DG sets...........................................................121


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL x

Figure 5-4: Isopleths for NOx Emission from DG sets .........................................................122

Figure 5-5: Isopleths for CO Emission from DG sets............................................................123


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL xi

List of Photos Picture No. Page No.

Photo 4-1: Farm Forest Vegetation..........................................................................................91

Photo 4-2: Road side plantation...............................................................................................92

Photo 4-3: Photographs showing pond side plantation............................................................93

Photo 4-5: Agricultural Practice ..............................................................................................94

Photo 4-6: Mammals found on the site ....................................................................................95

Photo 4-8: Photograph showing Lentic water body (Pond).....................................................98

Photo 4-7: Existing infrastructure facilities within the villages.............................................101

Photo 4-11: Photographs showing educational infrastructure ...............................................102


SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL 12

Executive Summary

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has been granted with an exploration block in Cambay Basin, namely CB-ONN-2005/2 by Government of India under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for exploration of hydrocarbon. A Production Sharing Contract (PSC) was signed between the Government of India (GoI) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) on 22nd December, 2008. In addition to this necessary regulatory approval has been taken for the exploration programme in the form of Petroleum Exploration License. As per the provisions of the PSC, IOCL would carry out exploration in two phases, in which the first phase was of a 3D seismic survey programme consisting of the data acquisition, processing and interpretation of the data for entire block of 77.68 sq.km. This will be further accompanied by drilling of four exploration wells to the depth of 3400m each, reprocessing of 570 LKM and magneto telluric of 250 stations, where as the second phase will comprise of drilling of one exploration well to the depth of 3400m.

The entire block is divided in two parts, namely Part-A and Part-B, which is located in Patan and Mahesana district of Gujarat respectively. The proposed exploratory drilling of wells require compliance with various National and State level environmental regulations, standards as well as international laws and best practices, as a part of which this EIA study has been carried out. The EIA study has been carried out for both the parts of the block, located in two districts; however, this EIA report is prepared mainly for Patan district. IOCL has appointed SENES India for carrying out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for this project using a scientific methodology of assessing environmental and social impacts from the project in order to arrive at a site specific Environment Management Plan (EMP).

Project Activity

The proposed project activity of exploratory drilling will involve Site and Access Road Preparation, Drilling and Testing of Well and if proved unsuccessful, Decommissioning & Closure of the site with a time schedule of about 4 months. The project will involve exploratory drilling of four wells upto a depth of 3400m. The entire block is divided in two parts, Part A and Part B; the exact well locations and drill site though not determined will strictly be confined within the block itself, typically requiring a lease land of 120m X 100m area for each well. Part A is located in this district of Patan. The proposed drilling activity will demand man power requirement during construction of drill site and its operation phase and power requirement for drilling rig operation. The project activity will cause requirement of water for drilling process as well as domestic and sanitary purposes



and will generate potential hazardous wastes, domestic waste and waste water from process and sanitation. Additionally the project activity will generate noise and air emissions. It will also involve transportation of drilling rig and machineries, raw materials, fuel and manpower and therefore lead to an increase of traffic density in some of the approach and connecting routes.

Baseline Environmental Scenario

An understanding of physical, biological and socioeconomic environment was gathered through various studies, surveys and stakeholder consultations in the area. The studies reveal that the noise and air quality in the project vicinity and water quality in the nearby surface and ground water bodies are very typical to rural environment. The land area of this part (Part A) of the block is having agricultural land, followed by few dense settlements (Jasalpur, Ruppura, Jitoda) and natural or man-made pond etc. The entire block is devoid of any demarcated forest land, except some scattered plantations are found through out the block, especially along the periphery of the villages, along the village roads and along the periphery of the pond. The typical soil condition of the entire block is sandy with high salinity content.

Narmada Canal is flowing near to the block after the implementation of Sardar Sarovar Project over the state of Gujarat.

The block does not have any eco sensitive area except few common road side, river side and canal side plantation and common mammals’ species, flora, fauna and avifauna.

The socioeconomic profile of the area matched with general data of the district as per the Census 2001 and the villagers are getting benefits of continuous drinking water and power supplies and availability of good road network at village level also, although the sanitation facilities in the block area are yet to develop.

Environmental Impact Assessment

The potential impacts of the project on different components of the environment has systematically identified and evaluated for significance. The principal concerns that may emerge from the proposed activities are:

• Temporary loss of top soil and land fertility; • Temporary loss of agricultural productivity of the leased land; • Increased water consumption from the project activity and generation of hazardous

waste and process & domestic waste water; • Noise disturbance and air quality impacts to sensitive receptors located close-by; • Increased vulnerability of local inhabitants to road accidents;

Some of the anticipated benefits from the proposed project activity are as follows;



• Potential improvement of some basic facilities for the local communities; • Temporary employment generation of the local skilled as well as unskilled labour

force; • Job and business opportunities for the local people during the site preparation,

drilling and decommissioning phases of the project;

Environmental Management Plan

Site-specific Environment Management Plans (EMPs) to prevent and mitigate significant adverse impacts to bring out beneficial impacts are proposed. The key mitigation measures will include:

1. Use of appropriate engineering controls and rehabilitation of sensitive receptors to minimize impacts of air emissions and noise disturbances to the receptors;

2. Reinstatement of the site area before handed over to the land owners;

3. Manage drill cuttings, wastewater, hazardous and other wastes in accordance with regulatory standards and guidance documents, thereby reducing risk of pollution and/or contamination in receiving water-bodies and other environmental media;

4. Optimal utilization of natural resources and raw materials;

5. Employment, training of local people considering the local skill availability;

6. Measures and controls to manage transportation impacts on local people and environment.

The suggested EMP will be monitored and adapted to future changes in accordance with the project requirement during various phases of the project lifecycle.



1.0 Introduction

1.1 BRIEF OUTLOOK OF PROJECT

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a flagship national oil company and downstream petroleum major has been granted with an exploration block in Cambay Basin, namely CB-ONN-2005/2 by Government of India under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for exploration of hydrocarbon.

A Production Sharing Contract (PSC) was signed between the Government of India (GoI) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) on 22nd December, 2008. In addition to this necessary regulatory approval has been taken for the exploration programme in the form of Petroleum Exploration License.

As per the provisions of the PSC, IOCL would carry out exploration in two phases, in which the first phase was of a 3D seismic survey programme consisting of the data acquisition, processing and interpretation of the data for entire block of 77.68 sq.km. This will be further accompanied by drilling of four exploration wells to the depth of 3400m each, reprocessing of 570 LKM and magneto telluric of 250 stations, where as the second phase will comprise of drilling of one exploration well to the depth of 3400m. The entire block is divided in two parts, Part A and Part B; the exact drilling site though not determined will typically be confined within the block itself, typically requiring a lease land of 120m X 100m area for each well. This EIA report is covering the detailed study and analysis carried out in Part A of the Block, which is located in Patan district of Gujarat.

1.2 LOCATION AND AREA OF THE SEISMIC BLOCK

The proposed block, CB-ONN-2005/2 is divided in two parts, viz. Part-A and Part-B. This particular EIA report is pertaining to Part A. Part-A is located in Chanasma taluka of the district of Patan. The location map with administrative boundary is shown in Figure 1-1.

The total area of the block is 77.68 sq km, out of which Part –A comprises an area of 28.68 sq km.



FIGURE 1-1: SITE LOCATION OF CAMBAY BASIN (CB-ONN-2005/2)

1.3 REQUIREMENT OF EIA

As per the EIA Notification 2006, proposed exploratory drilling operation of oil & gas project is coming under Schedule 1(b) of Category ‘A’ projects. According to this notification, Form I along with proposed Terms of Reference (ToR) & Pre-feasibility Report has been submitted to Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), vide letter no. E&P/CO/162 on dated 13/05/2010. After submitting this Form I, a letter came from



MoEF, asking for some clarification on dated 31/05/2010. IOCL replied to those clarification on dated 03/06/2010 vide letter no. E&P/CO/162. On the basis of these clarifications and subsequent ToR presentation, MoEF has issued Terms of Reference vide F. No. J-11011/255/2010-IA II (I) dated 9th August, 2010.

The proposed project was appraised as a designated project falls under Category ‘A’ of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification dated September 14, 2006 and requires Environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF).

None of the General conditions (GC) as per the EIA notification, 2006 are applicable for this exploratory drilling project of onshore oil & gas exploration.

The purpose of this report is to document the outcome of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the proposed exploratory drilling operation in the onshore Block, CB-ONN-2005/2, owned by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). M/s IOCL has retained M/s SENES Consultants India (P) Limited to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment study for the previous seismic survey and also for proposed exploratory drilling operation as per the additional ToR provided by MoEF.

The purpose of the EIA report is to address the information on the nature and extent of potential environmental impacts, both negative and positive, during the construction of drilling well and its operation phase and related activities taking place concurrently.

As per the EIA Notification 2006, the EIA report is to be submitted to Gujarat State Pollution Control Board for conducting public hearing in Patan district of Gujarat. After the successful completion of public hearing, minutes will be assessed and sufficient measures will be taken as a part of the EIA study and subsequently will be submitted to MoEF for getting Environmental Clearance.

1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE EIA STUDY

The objectives of the proposed study are as follows:

• To assess the overall baseline environmental and socioeconomic conditions of the proposed project block and its surrounding study area;

• To identify environmental sensitive features within the block area and places of architectural and cultural importance, where additional safeguards needs to be adopted during the drilling operations;

• To assess environmental, socioeconomic and health impacts arising out of the proposed drilling operations and associated activities;

• To recommend block specific appropriate preventive and mitigative measures to minimize pollutions, environmental and social disturbances during entire life-cycle period of the project;



• To adopt suitable environmental action plans and management systems, so as to implement and monitor the appropriate mitigative measures;

• To identify alternative actions in terms of technology and practices that may reduce the extent of impacts;

• Engage local communities through a Public Consultation Programme; • Formulate a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Plan that will be appropriate for

the area and the nature of the work, keeping in view the corporate policies of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)

1.5 SCOPE OF THE EIA STUDY

The main scope of the study involves carrying out EIA study for the proposed exploratory drilling in an onshore block, CB-ONN-2005/2 to identify environmental, socioeconomic and health impacts of the project and to recommend suitable preventive/mitigative actions through Environmental Management Plan. The typical scope of the study includes following issues:

• Detailed review of policy and regulations; • Understanding of the basic project activities based on the discussion with Indian Oil

Corporation Limited; • Conducting the primary reconnaissance visit to the site to collect primary and

secondary information on baseline environmental and socioeconomic conditions of the area;

• Carrying out monitoring of environmental parameters by certified laboratory Kadam Environmental Consultants;

• Carrying out public hearing/public consultation and stakeholder analysis; • Assessment of the impact from the project • Formulation of Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

The EIA studies has been carried out keeping in mind the above mentioned scope of work and following the additional Terms of Reference (ToR), issued by MoEF, vide F. No. J-11011/255/2010-IA II (I) dated 9th August, 2010, as enclosed as Annexure I.

The EIA report covers compliance of all the ToR points (Refer: Table 1-1), is systematically documented and is being formally presented in this report.

TABLE 1-1: COMPLIANCE OF TOR POINTS

S.No. ToR Point Reference in EIA Report

1. Executive summary of project, Feasibility study report and pipeline route survey report

• Executive summary of the project has been prepared and enclosed at the beginning of the EIA report



• Feasibility study will be done after finalizing the well locations. Pre-feasibility report has been annexed herewith as Annexure-II

• Not Applicable, as the proposed project is at exploratory drilling phase and does not involve laying of any pipeline

2. Project Description and Project Benefits • Detailed description of the project along with the activities involved are given in Chapter 3 of the EIA Report

• Project benefits of the proposed drilling activity are given in Chapter 8 of the EIA Report

3. Land use details of the site based on satellite imagery

• The exact well locations are yet to finalize, however it will be confined within the block itself. The detailed land use pattern of the block has been studied on the basis of satellite imagery, which has been given in Section 4.1.1 of the EIA Report

4. Process details with animated model • The project activities along with the flow chart and model for the proposed drilling is given in Section 3.6 of the EIA Report

5. Animated computer model for prospective years regarding truck movement from safety and risk point of view

• The proposed drilling of well being a temporary activity of not more than one and half years (120 days per well and total four wells), does not involve truck movement for longer period of time. The drilling activity will only involve movement of 20-25 truck loads, for which the site level risk assessment has been done and suitable mitigation measures have been suggested in Section 5.2.1 of the EIA Report and also discussed in the Transportation Management Section of 9.2.5 of the EIA Report.

6. Proposal for safety buffer zone around the proposed site with map

• The locations for wells are not yet finalized for drilling purposes. Once, the location of the well will be finalized, a safe distance of 500 m to 1



km will be maintained around the settlement area or other sensitive places for safety purposes.

7. A list of industries within 10km radius of the project

• Details of industries within 10 km radius area is given in Section 3.5.3 of the EIA Report

8. Layout plan with provision of truck parking area

• The provision for truck parking area will be allotted at the time of site preparation. The parking of truck will be provided within the block itself once the exact well locations got fixed.

9. Details of the storage and technical specifications with safety aspects & standards

• Various regulatory requirements and standards related to storage, use and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes respectively are given in Legal Section of the EIA Report.

• Various safety measures for handling of hazardous substances and storing and transportation of hazardous wastes are given in Section 9.2.1 of the EIA Report.

10. Site details including satellite imagery for 5 km around the site

• Site details of the exploratory block is given in Section 3.5 of the EIA Report

• Site details including satellite imagery for 5 km around the site is given in Section 4.1.2 of the EIA Report

11. Land use along with maps & cropping pattern, vegetation, ecology, flora & fauna

• Land use of the site along with maps & cropping pattern and vegetation is given in Section 4.1.1 of the EIA Report

• Details of flora and fauna in and around the site is given in Section 4.6 of the EIA Report

12 Demography & socio-economics of the area

• Details of demography & socio-economics of the area is given in Section 4.7 of the EIA Report

13 Baseline data for air, water and soil for i. Ambient air quality monitoring for

RSPM, SO2 and NOx • Ambient air quality monitoring details

for RSPM, SO2 and NOx is given in Section 4.5.2 of the EIA Report

ii. Background levels of hydrocarbons (methane & non-methane HC) and

• Background levels of hydrocarbons (methane & non-methane HC) is given



VOCs in Section 4.5.2 of the EIA Report in Table 4.20

• VOCs, which have been measured with reference to Toluene, was Not Detected

iii. Soil sample analysis • Soil sample analysis has been carried out, the details of which are given in Section 4.1.6 of the EIA Report

iv. Baseline underground and surface water quality in the vicinity of project

• Baseline underground and surface water quality in the vicinity of project site is given in Section 4.2 of the EIA Report

v. Climatology & meteorology including wind speed, wind direction, temperature, rainfall etc.

• Climatology & meteorological details including wind speed, wind direction, temperature, rainfall etc. are discussed in Section 4.5.1 of the EIA Report

vi. Measurement of noise level • Noise level measurement details of the block is given in Section 4.3 of the EIA Report

vii. Baseline data for land subsidence is necessary

• Land subsidence data of this area has been given in Section 4.1.5 of the EIA Report

14 Water consumption detail, source of water supply; waste water generation, treatment & utilization of treated water generated from the facility; effluent disposal & measures for release of effluent in case of fire

• Water consumption detail and source of water supply is given in Section 5.2.3 of the EIA Report;

• Waste water generation, treatment & utilization of treated water generated from the facility is given in Section 5.2.3 of the EIA Report;

• Effluent disposal & its proper measures will be given due consideration as described in Section 5.2.3 of the EIA Report even in case of fire

15 Solid waste generation, collection, segregation, its recycling & reuse, treatment & disposal

• The solid waste generation, collection, segregation, its recycling & reuse, treatment & disposal detail is given in Section 9.2.1 of the EIA Report in Waste and Waste Water Management section

16 Impact assessment on air, water, soil, solid & hazardous waste & noise level

• Impact assessment on air, water, soil, solid & hazardous waste & noise level has been detailed out in Impact Assessment chapter (5th chapter) of



the EIA Report 17 Proposed preventive measure for leakages

& accident • The proposed preventive measure for

spill management, its leakages and related accident is described in Section 7.2.2 of the EIA Report

18 Details of Vapour recovery system • Not Applicable, as the project is at exploratory drilling phase

19 Earmarking of area for parking of lorries at a remote location to avoid congestion

• The drill site will be chosen in such a manner to avoid disturbance to the residential area;

• The drill site will have separate provision for parking of trucks and/or lorries within it, hence such movement of lorries will not cause traffic congestion. Therefore, no separate area at remote location is required for parking of lorries;

20 Adequate width of approach road to avoid congestion and to have safe exit in emergency

• The approach road to this part of the block is through SH-7 and SH-55, which possesses adequate width. Additionally, the project being a temporary activity of not more than one and half years (120 days per well) and having movement of around 20-25 truck loads will not cause traffic congestion

21 Type of seismic zone • The project site comes under seismic zone III as per the Seismic Zoning Map of India (IS 1893, Part-I, 2002)

22 Possibility of blending of ethanol at Central place

• Not Applicable, as this project is at exploratory drilling phase for oil and gas

23 Environmental Management Plan • A suitable Environmental Management Plan has been suggested, which has been given in Chapter 9 of the EIA Report

24 Risk Assessment & Disaster Management Plan

• Emergency and Disaster Management Plan has been given in Section 7.2 of the EIA Report

Identification of hazards Consequence analysis



Risk assessment should also include leakages & location near to refinery & proposed measures for risk reduction

• Not Applicable, as this is at exploratory drilling phase for oil and gas and does not involve refineries

Corrosion management of pipeline • Not Applicable, as this is at exploratory drilling phase for oil and gas and does not involve laying of pipelines

25 Details of proposed Occupational Health Surveillance programme for employees & other labour

• Details of proposed Occupational Health Surveillance programme for employees & other labour has been given in Section 9.2.7 of the EIA Report

26 Environmental Monitoring Programme • Details of Environmental Monitoring Programme has been given in Chapter 6 of the EIA Report

27 Any litigation pending against the project and/or any direction/ order passed by any Court of Law against the project, if so, details thereof

• Not Applicable

28 A tabular chart indicating point-wise compliance of the TOR

• This Table 1-1 itself is indicating the point-wise compliance of the TOR

29 A copy of the notification regarding location of the project in the notified industrial area

• Not Applicable, as this project is not coming under any Notified Industrial Area and the Cambay Basin block, CB-ONN-2005/2 has been awarded to IOCL by Government of India through Production Sharing Contract under NELP-VII

In addition to the above mentioned ToR, the EIA study has been carried out keeping in view the general points, mentioned in the issued ToR by MoEF. As a part of this, against the general point No. VII, the QCI application submission receipt, dated 15th March, 2010 (Refer: http://www.qcin.org/nabet/about.php) and a copy of the Office Memorandum dated 28th June has been attached as Annexure-III, as the “Certificate of Accreditation” is yet to receive from QCI.

1.6 STRUCTURE OF THE EIA REPORT

The remainder of this report is as follows:

Chapter 1 : Introduction

Chapter 2 : Legal Framework

Chapter 3 : Project Description



Chapter 4 : Existing Baseline Environment

Chapter 5 : Environmental Impacts & Mitigation Measures

Chapter 6 : Environmental Monitoring Programme

Chapter 7 : Additional Studies

Chapter 8 : Project Benefites

Chapter 9 : Environmental Management Plan

Chapter 10 : Summary & Conclusion

Chapter 11 : Disclosure of consultants



2.0 Regulatory and Legal Framework

The first UN Conference on Human Development & Environment was held at Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1972, which emphasized on the need for formulating appropriate legal mechanism and framework to conserve resources, protect the environment and ensure the health and well being of the people in India. Over the years, the Government of India has framed several policies and promulgated a number of Acts, Rules, Notifications and Standards aimed at conservation and management of environment. As a result of which, India now, has a fairly comprehensive set of environmental legislation and standards aimed at ensuring that the development process meets the overall objectives of promoting sustainability in the long run. Moreover, the Indian Constitution has also incorporated specific articles to address environmental concerns through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment of 1976.

2.1 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES

A series of environment policy statements have been announced in the last few decades as a part of the Governments’ approach to integrate environmental and developmental aspects together. The policies reflect a gradual shift in emphasis from pollution abatement and control to proactive and voluntary approaches for pollution prevention besides keeping pace with global paradigm shifts and trends to environment management. Following are some of the key policies that have been laid down by the Central Government:

• National Forest Policy, 1988 • National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and

Development, 1992 • Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution,1992 • National Water Policy, 2002

Despite these policy documents, a need for a comprehensive policy statement had been evidenced over the time to introduce a common linkage between various sectoral and cross-sectoral approaches of environmental management. As a result, a National

Environment Policy (NEP, 2006) has been drawn up as a response to India‟s national commitment to a clean environment, which was mandated in the Constitution in Articles 48 A and 51 A (g) and strengthened by judicial interpretation of Article 21.

The National Environment Policy deals with the key environmental challenges, regulatory reforms, environmental standards, re-emphasizing conservation of environment resources and stakeholder involvement.



2.2 NATIONAL LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR OIL AND GAS PROJECTS

The proposed project will be governed by various Acts, Rules and Regulations set by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) at the National level and other regulatory agencies at the State and local level. Various environmental standards, specifications and guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and other district level agencies will also be applicable. The proposed project of exploratory drilling is governed by the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948 and Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules, 1959, which make provision for the regulation of petroleum operation and grant of licenses and leases for exploration, development and production of Petroleum in India. It is important to note here that the Central government

has framed “umbrella legislation‟, called the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to broadly encompass and regulate an array of environmental issues. However, the following Table 2-1 gives an idea of the specific regulatory requirements associated with this particular project during the various phases of its lifecycle, to assist in complying with the legislation applicable.

TABLE 2-1: REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH OIL AND GAS DRILLING AT

CB-ONN-2005/2

Sl No. Legislation Areas/ Activities Covered

1 Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 with Rules

• Overall environmental protection • Compliance to general environmental (Air,

Water and Noise) standards issued under Environment (Protection) Rules

• Disposal of solid waste, drill cutting and drilling fluid for drilling operations notified vide notification G.S.R.546 (E) dated 30th August, 2005

• Compliance to MINAS of Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction industry as notified vide notification dated GSR 176 (E) April 1996

2 Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959 under Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948

• Requires to obtain Exploration License for Oil and Gas from the State Government to identify the prospects of a particular area and to follow the instructions mentioned there

3 Production Sharing Contract

• It demands impact assessment study for exploratory drilling operations to prepare EIA along with EMP and approval of the same from the Central Government



(Ministry of Environment and Forests)

4 Siting Guidance • Follow Siting Guidance as far as practicable • Avoid sites which are environmentally

sensitive 5 EIA Notification, 2006

under the EPA, 1986 • It demands all offshore and onshore oil and

gas exploration, development and production projects to get Environmental Clearance from MOEF; however the seismic activity is exempted from the Environmental Clearance

6 Oil Mines Regulations 1984 (OMR) under the Mines Act, 1952.

• Covers safety aspects, storage of material and protection against pollution of environment at the drill site;

7 Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 with Rules.

• Protection of Air Quality • Consent to Establish (NOC) from SPCB for

establishing & Consent to Operate (CTE) for activities causing air pollution from DG sets

• Compliance to National Ambient Air Quality Standard

8 Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 with Rules.

• Protection of Water Quality • Discharge of sewage • Obtaining Consent to Establish (NOC) for

establishing and Consent to Operate (CTE) for activities causing water pollution from SPCB

9 Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000

• Ensure compliance with Ambient Noise Standards in accordance to land use of the area

10 Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling Rules, 2002 (as amended)

• Obtaining Authorization from SPCB for handling and storing of hazardous waste like drill cuttings, waste oil, ETP sludge etc.

• Following guidance for handling and storing of such hazardous waste

11 Manufacture, Storage & Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 2000 (as amended)

• Notifying regulatory authority (in this case, the State Factories Inspectorate) of storage of hazardous substances like Petroleum products

• Follow guidance on such storage, maintain updated MSDS, submit annual Safety Report to authority

• Prepare Onsite Emergency Plan



12 Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) and Rules, 1989 (MVR)

• Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) will be required for all the vehicles operating within the site

• Proper labeling of the vehicles carrying hazardous substances

13 Petroleum Act with Rules 2000

• Obtain License for Storage of Petroleum Substances

• Comply with guidance and safety measures for storage and transportation of petroleum substances for the project

14 The Explosives Acts, 1984 with Rules, 1983

• Obtain license for storage of explosives • Comply with guidance and safety measures

for storage and transportation of petroleum substances for the project

15 The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• Refers protection to the species of flora and fauna and wildlife habitat to establish a network of ecologically important protected areas

16 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and Rules, 1959

• Refers protection of archaeological sites, ancient monuments and demands fencing or covering and/or otherwise preserving such monuments and sites

2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE AND PERMITTING

This section is discussing some of the specific regulatory requirement associated with this particular project along with some of the common legislation and rules & regulations, applicable to the proposed exploratory drilling operation in Cambay Basin block CB-ONN-2005/2 under the onshore oil and gas exploration.

2.3.1 Submission and Approval of EIA as per Production Sharing Contract

A Production Sharing Contract (PSC) was signed between the Government of India and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), according to which an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study has to be carried out for exploratory drilling. The study shall assess the prevailing situation with respect to the environment, human beings and local communities, the wildlife and the forest resources, presence of any ancient or historical sites of cultural importance in the proposed Contract Area and in the adjoining or neighboring areas and concentrate on establishing the likely impacts, that may arises from the proposed drilling operations. The impact assessment study has to be accompanied by appropriate mitigation measures and an Environment Management Plan (EMP) to minimize the negative impacts of the project on environment. As per the



provision of PSC, the documented EIA report has to be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) for approval before the commencement of drilling operations.

2.3.2 Administrative Permissions as per the Petroleum Exploration License (PEL)

In exercise of the powers given in Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959, the Government of Gujarat has granted Petroleum Exploration License to the IOCL on certain terms and condition. As per the provision of PEL, IOCL has to bring into the notice of the Central Government, the details of minerals found in the area during exploration work. The IOCL shall keep with them equipments, supplies and means to extinguish fire and in case of any damage from fire, IOCL has to pay compensation to third party and/or Government as the case may be. IOCL has to submit to Central Government on every six months, the detail results of all the operation associated with the activity. IOCL has to issue identity card to each of the employee working in this project and has to carry out regular checking of their identity besides ensuring security of their personnel. The proposed drilling of wells will be carried out on the strict condition that, no drilling work shall be carried out in and around the lake or residential area and or any sensitive areas. The roads and natural drainage of the area has to be kept clear, open and intact. IOCL will not damage any objects of public interest in any form during carrying out drilling, neither may it cause any harms to the existing infrastructure, underground utility or human beings.

2.3.3 Environmental Clearance as per EIA Notification

The new EIA Notification, dated 14th September, 2006 is administered by the Ministry of Environment and Forests at the Central Government level. According to the new notification, new or expansion or modernization of any activity falling within the Schedule, (which specifies eight categories of developmental and industrial activities) can be undertaken in any part of India only after obtaining environmental clearance from the MoEF/ State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) in accordance with the procedures specified in the notification. This involves use of “Environmental Impact Assessment study as a decision-making tool.

The proposed exploratory drilling operation for oil and gas comes under Schedule 1 (b) of EIA Notification; hence it requires Environmental Clearance from MoEF. As per the provision of EIA Notification, IOCL has already submitted an application to MoEF in prescribed Form-I along with proposed Terms of Reference (TOR) and have received some additional TOR from MoEF vide F. No. J-11011/255/2010-IA II (I), dated, 9th August, 2010.

According to this additional TOR and as per the provisions of EIA Notification, a Public Hearing process for this project is mandatory to be carried out as part of the EIA process.



The Public Hearing process has to be coordinated by the respective State Pollution Control Board (SBCB) at the project site. For this purpose, IOCL will have to apply to the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) along with copies of Draft EIA Report. Based on the application and draft EIA report submitted, a Public Hearing would be notified and subsequently conducted by a Public Hearing Panel set up by the GPCB. Following this, the minutes of the Public Hearing would be conveyed by the GPCB to the MoEF. MoEF then appraises the project proposal through an Expert Appraisal Committee, where the EC will be awarded to IOCL, after successful appraisal of the project.

2.3.4 Consent to Establish and Operate – No Objection Certificate (NOC)

According to Section 21 of the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Section 25 of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, no person shall establish or operate any activity, which can cause air or water pollution without obtaining Consent to Establish (CTE) as per the Air and Water Acts. The Hazardous Waste (management and Handling) Rules 2000 (as amended in 2002) require an occupier generating/storing/handling hazardous waste to take authorization from the SPCB. Drilling mud and cuttings figure in the list of wastes (by processes) as hazardous, until proved otherwise by the proponent therefore requiring an authorization to be taken.

It may be noted that normally the CTE for the Air and Water Act as also the Hazardous Waste Rules is provided in the form of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) after submission of the Air / Water Consent Forms and the Hazardous Waste Authorization Form to the SPCB (here the GPCB) with the requisite fees. The NOC would contain a set of site specific environmental safeguards and the standards for air, water and noise pollution as also for handling and disposal of hazardous waste which have to be complied by IOCL at the drill sites.

The granting of NOC does not have a formal time limit, but may be expedited within about a month. This NOC has to be subsequently followed by Consent to Operate (CTO) before drilling operations can be commenced at site.

2.3.5 Permission for water uptake

The required water for the proposed exploratory drilling operation and domestic activities will be obtained mainly from the local surface water bodies, namely Narmada Canal or from the pond, well (depending upon the availability of water in them). In case of water intake from Narmada Canal, necessary permission from the competent authority has to be taken by IOCL. The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited is the permission giving authority, from whom IOCL has to take permission for using the water during drilling phase.



A written application has to be submitted to the concerned chief engineer of the local district level office of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited.

2.3.6 License for Storage of Petroleum Products & Explosives

The Explosives Rules, 1983 were framed to regulate the manufacture, possession, sale, use, transportation and import of condensed explosives. The Explosive Rules, 1983, deal with condensed explosives like high explosives (dynamite, detonators etc.) fireworks, low explosives (safety fuse etc.). According to this Rule, license is required for manufacture, storage (possession) for sale and/or use, transport, import, export of explosives etc. According to The Explosive Rules, 1983, the explosives are divided into 8 classes; Class 1 to Class 8 and any person(s) wish to posses any of the explosives has to take a license in the prescribed Form 22 or Form 23 depending upon the nature and quantity of the explosives.

It has been estimated that, around 5- 6 KLD of fuel will be required for drilling rig and DG set operation and hence adequate storage options for the same will be provided at the drill sites. Additionally, IOCL will keep a provision for storage of explosives in nearby warehouse. IOCL has to apply to the Chief Controller/Controller of Explosives authorized by Chief Controller/District Authority as the case may be (depending on the Class of explosives and its quantity) for possessing the explosives. For secure and safe storage of explosives, a portable magazine can be set up with necessary approval from Chief Controller of Explosives. Since, the drilling activity will last for not more than 120 days period, IOCL can also prefer use of road van or trucks for carrying out explosives. In case of use of road van, IOCL will need to take the license from the authorized controller in the prescribed Form 25. The storage and transport specifications as per the rules and the license conditions will need to be adhered.

2.4 SITING OF PROJECT AND PHYSICAL OCCUPATION

2.4.1 Project Siting

The siting of developmental projects in India is managed by Siting Guidelines specified for particular activities and projects delineated by the MoEF and the CPCB. The overall purpose of the guideline is to aid proponents in judiciously selecting the project sites, keeping in mind various environmental sensitivities of the area.

Although, the exact wells locations are yet to finalize, IOCL would select the well location and prepare the drill site in such a way, that it would not cause damage to the natural surrounding of the site as well as the environmental sensitivities of the area and the productivity of the agricultural land.

IOCL will take the land on temporary lease for drilling purposes. However, if in case, the agricultural productivity of those leased land gets damaged from the drilling operation,



IOCL will pay adequate crop compensation to the land owners on the basis of prevailing market price of the crop in that particular district.

2.4.2 Prevention of Damage to Adjacent Properties and the Environment

According to PEL, IOCL would not be allowed to enter into any outside area or to cause any damage to the land or property which is not covered under the lease. If in case, such damages take place, IOCL would be liable to pay suitable compensation to the occupier of the subject property depending on the nature and extent of damage.

Although, the exact locations of the wells will be finalized only after successful interpretation of seismic data, however, the well locations will be strictly confined within the acquired block itself.

According to PSC, if the operation of IOCL endanger people or any adjacent property or cause pollution resulting in harm to wildlife or the environment around the drill site, to a degree that the Government (here meaning the District Administrator or Collector) deems unacceptable, it may direct IOCL to take remedial measures within a reasonable period of time as may be determined and to repair any damage to the environment.

The PSC requires IOCL to prepare an emergency plans to deal with spills, fires and other accidents like a possible blowout of the well. The plan will be designed to achieve rapid and effective emergency response. If in case, an emergency happens, IOCL would promptly report such accidents to government authorities and take necessary control and remedial action based on international best practices.

In addition, the Oil Mines Regulations Act, 1984 (OMR) deals with issues related to safety, storage of material and protection against pollution of environment from drilling operations. The provisions of this Act aims at giving notice during an accident like blowout; preparing area plans where drilling operations are being carried out and the surface plan showing railways, power transmission lines, public roads, existing buildings or other permanent structures not belonging to the owner, rivers and water courses within the drill site and its surrounding areas; ensuring protection against pollution of environment arising out of discharge of formation water, oil, drilling fluid, waste, chemical substances or refuse from a well, tank or other production installation which may:

• Create hazard to public health and safety; • Run into or contaminate any fresh water structure or body of water or • remain in a place from which it might contaminate any fresh water or body of

water; and • Run over or damage any land, highway or public road;



During the initial planning phase of exploratory drilling, IOCL has to give due consideration to these various provisions mentioned in this Act.

2.5 DESIGN PROCESS & EQUIPMENT/MATERIAL SELECTION

2.5.1 Noise Standards and Controls for Equipment

The EPR lays down equipment specific noise emission standards for DG Sets, Air conditioners and construction equipments, which would be in use for the proposed drilling activity. Specific standards for control of noise from DG sets and various measurements need to be taken for reduction of noise have also been specified in the Environment (Protection) Second Amendment Rules, 2002 notified through notification GSR 371 (E) on 17th May, 2002. According to the provision of this Rule, the maximum permissible sound pressure level for new diesel generator (DG) sets with rated capacity of upto 1000 KVA, manufactured on or after the 1st July, 2003 shall be 75 dB(A) at 1 meter from the enclosure surface.

IOCL has to use the DG sets having such specification and the DG sets should be provided with integral acoustic enclosure. Noise from DG set shall be controlled by providing an acoustic enclosure or by treating the room acoustically. IOCL is likely to install the DG sets, designed with acoustic enclosure or with acoustic treatment of room (housing the generator) with a minimum of 25 dB(A) insertion loss or for meeting the ambient noise standards, whichever is higher. In addition, the DG having a proper exhaust muffler with a minimum insertion loss of 25 dB (A) may be installed for fulfilling the requirement. All the possible efforts will be made by IOCL to bring down noise levels outside the premises to ambient levels by installing proper siting and control measures, as required.

Given the fact that, high noise emissions will be generated from the drilling rig, IOCL may need to design additional engineering controls like noise barriers to attenuate such noise and reduce it to the extent practicable so that it does not violate standards for ambient noise quality.

2.5.2 Flaring Specifications

Following guidelines are to be followed for planning and design of the Flaring System according to the MINAS specified for Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction industry (as notified vide notification dated GSR 176 (E) April 1996):

• Cold venting of gases never be resorted to and all the gaseous emissions must be flared;



• All flaring shall be done by elevated flares except where there is no effect on crop production in adjoining areas due to glaring. In such cases, ground flaring can be adopted;

• In case of ground flare, to minimise effects of flaring, the flare pit should be made of RCC surrounded by a permanent wall (made of refractory bricks) of minimum 5 m height, to reduce the radiation and glaring effects in the adjoining areas;

• In case of the ground flaring, provisions of green belt being not feasible, enclosed ground flaring system is likely to be adopted and should be designed with proper enclosure height to meet the ground level concentrations (GLC) requirement;

• In case of elevated flaring, the minimum stack height shall be 30m. Height of the stack shall be such that the maximum GLC never exceeds the prescribed standard for ambient air quality. However, for the temporary test flaring during drilling operations, a vertical rise of at-least 9 m or so as may be required by the Regional Inspector by an order in writing is to be kept as per the provision under Oil Mines Regulations Act, 1984;

• Burning of effluents in the pits should not be carried out at any stage;

2.5.3 Design of Water Pollution Control System

IOCL will take appropriate measures to treat and dispose any waste water that is likely to be generated from the drilling process or from sanitary and domestic sources from within the site before draining it into any surface water body. The treatment system will be tested for efficiency after installation and commissioning to ensure that the treated water conforms to the discharge standards specified by the MINAS for process waste water and General Standards for discharge of waste water as specified by the EPR for sewage and domestic waste water.

2.5.4 Drilling Wastes & Chemicals

The Central Government has made third amendment to Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, vide Notification G.S.R. 546 (E), dated 30th August, 2005, which is known as Environment (Protection) Third Amendment Rules, 2005. According to the provisions of this Rule, IOCL has to follow the onshore disposal guidelines for drill cuttings and drilling mud:

• Drill Cuttings (DC) originating from on-shore or locations close to shore line and separated from Water Base Mud (WBM) should be properly washed;

• Unusable drilling fluids (DF) such as WBM, Oil Base Mud (OBM), Synthetic Base Mud (SBM) should be disposed off in a well designed pit lined with impervious liner located off-site or on-site. The disposal pit should be provided additionally with leachate collection system;



• Design aspects of the impervious waste disposal pit; capping of disposal pit should be informed by the oil industry to State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) at the time of obtaining consent;

• If any problem occurs with Water Based Mud (WBM) for drilling, due to geological formation, low toxicity Oil Based Mud (OBM) having aromatic content <1% can be used only after intimating the Ministry of Environment and Forests/State Pollution Control Board;

• The waste pit after filled up completely shall be covered with impervious liner, over which, a thick layer of native soil with proper top slope is to be provided;

• Drilling wastewater including Drill cuttings wash water should be collected in the disposal pit evaporated or treated and should comply with the notified standards for on-shore disposal;

• Total material acquired for preparation of drill site must be restored after completion of drilling operation leaving no waste material at site. IOCL will have to inform Gujarat Pollution Control Board about the restoration work;

• The disposal of mud shall conform to the guidelines specified by the Ministry of Environment & Forests under the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989.

• The chemicals used (mainly organic constituents) should be biodegradable;

2.5.5 Hazardous Wastes Management

The Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 require facilities to classify wastes into categories, manage them as per the prescribed guidelines and obtain prior authorization from the SPCB for handling, treatment, storage and disposal of Hazardous Wastes.

The Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 1989 were introduced under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 (referred to as HWMH Rules 1989). The HWMH Rules, 1989 provide the control of generation, collection, treatment, transport, import, storage and disposal of wastes listed in the schedules annexed to these rules. The HWMH Rules have been amended in 2000 and 2003, which have widened the definition of hazardous wastes.

The rules define responsibility of hazardous wastes generators, require safe handling practices and maintenance during transport of hazardous waste and also describe technological aspects to be followed by re-refiners and recyclers of hazardous wastes. The rules also cover liabilities of occupier, transporters and operator of a facility for any damage caused due to improper handling and disposal of hazardous wastes for reinstating or restoring environmental damages caused. The occupier of hazardous waste collection,



storage, transportation and disposal requires prior permit called “authorization” under the rules.

According to the provisions of this Rules, IOCL needs to have prior authorization i.e. permission for collection, transport, treatment, reception, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes, to be granted by the competent authority (Gujarat Pollution Control Board) as per Form 1 of the Rules.

The following kinds of hazardous waste may be generated during the site preparation and construction phase and during restoration of the project:

• Spent oil and lubricants from construction equipments and DG sets. • Paint residues during the painting of structures, camps, etc. • Asbestos Contaminated Material (ACM) that may be generated from dismantling of

temporary housing / sheds for construction workers.

IOCL has to take responsibilities for managing such wastes properly, by sending them to authorized recyclers (waste oil) or storing them in secure containers for disposal at a later stage.

2.5.6 Contractor Requirements

The PSC clearly mentions that the drilling operation will be conducted in an environmentally acceptable and a safe manner consistent with good international industry practice. It requires that the contracts between IOCL and any subcontractor must have provisions, which make it obligatory for the subcontractor to conform to established measures and methods in relation to protection of the environment. IOCL will incorporate such specifications and environmental practices/procedures in the tender and contract documents as and where applicable. Further information in this regard has detailed out in the proposed Environmental Management Plan.

2.6 PROJECT ON ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

2.6.1 Wild Life Protection under Wildlife Act

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, provides for protection to listed species of flora and fauna and establishes a network of ecologically important protected areas. As per Article 17A WPA, Prohibition of picking, uprooting etc., of specified plants. – Save, as otherwise provided in this Chapter, no person shall –

• Willfully pick, uproot, damage, destroy, acquire or collect any specified plant from any forest land and area specified, by notification, by the Central Government.

• Possess, sell, other for sale or transfer by way of gift or otherwise, or transport any specified plant, whether alive or dead, or part or derivative thereof.



As the proposed block where the drilling operations would be carried out does not involve any Wildlife Sanctuary or National Park, falling under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; hence the project does not come under the purview of this Act. However, as per the provisions of this Act, all the animals are categorized under different schedule (Schedule I to IV) on the basis of their priority, proportion and their population.

The site and its surrounding areas show movement of Nilgai, which is categorized as Schedule III animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; although its presence does not require any permission to be taken from the concerned authority for drilling to be carried out. However, necessary precautions will be taken during the site and access road preparation in order to ensure protection to this kind of animals.

2.6.2 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958

This Act defines the ancient monument and structures, found through out the country; identify them as the protected one. As per this Act, Ancient Monument means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock-sculpture, inscription or monolith which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has been in existence for not less than 100 years and includes —

1. Remains of an ancient monument,

2. Site of an ancient monument,

3. Such portion of land adjoining the site of an ancient monument as may be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise preserving such monument, and

4. The means of access to, and convenient inspection of, an ancient monument;

The section 2(d) defines Archaeological site and remains means any area which contains or is reasonably believed to contain ruins or relics of historical or archaeological importance which have been in existence for not less than one hundred years, and includes—

1. Such portion of land adjoining the area as may be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise preserving it, and

2. The means of access to, and convenient inspection of the area;

According to “The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959”, an area of upto 300m near or adjoining protected monuments is prohibited or regulated for the purpose of mining operation or construction activities. Since, this part of the proposed block is not situated within 300m from any monuments and the well locations will be strictly confined within the block itself; hence IOCL need not take any permission from any regulatory body for carrying out drilling operations in this block.



However, necessary precautions will be taken during the movement of trucks and other vehicles carrying equipments and machineries and personnel to the site.

2.6.3 Operation of Motor Vehicles

The Central Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) and Rules, 1989 (MVR) prescribe that vehicles falling in the category of transport vehicles (buses, trucks, taxis and auto rickshaws) undergo an annual fitness certification. Additionally, vehicle owners also have to obtain Pollution under Control Certificate (PUCC) from a recognized testing center and have to display it on their vehicles. Additionally, to address the problem of risk associated with transportation of hazardous substances by road and the consequences of transportation emergencies arise from these substances, provisions have been laid down in the MVR. Accordingly, any road carriage involved with the transportation of hazardous goods which can be harmful to human life or which can possibly cause damage to the environment in case of accidents and spillages shall have to comply with the labeling requirements and have to maintain safety guidance specified in the MVR.

IOCL during their proposed drilling operations may restrict usage of vehicles that do not have PUCC or do not comply with emission rating of engines specified under the MVR (for vehicles carrying hazardous substances like petroleum products) within their premises.

2.7 IOCL ENVIRONMENT POLICY

Indian Oil Corporation is committed to conduct business with strong environment conscience ensuring sustainable development, safe workplaces and enrichment of quality of life of employees, customers and the community. Indian Oil believes that good Safety, Health and Environmental performance is an integral part of efficient and profitable business management; hence, they shall maintain the following practices:

• Establish and maintain good standards for safety of the people, the processes and the assets;

• Comply with all the Rules and Regulations on Safety, Occupational Health and Environmental Protection;

• Plan, design, operate and maintain all facilities, processes and procedures to secure sustained Safety, Health and Environmental Protection;

• Remain trained, equipped and ready for effective and prompt response to any sort of accidents and emergencies;

• IOCL would always welcome audit of their SH&E conduct by external body, so that stakeholder confidence is safeguarded;

• Adopt and promote industry best practices to avert accidents and improve Company’s S, H&E performance.



• Remain committed to be a leader in Safety, Occupational Health and Environmental Protection through continuing improvement.

• Make efforts to preserve ecological balance and heritage.



3.0 Description of Project

3.1 OVERVIEW

The exploration block CB-ONN-2005/2 has been awarded to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) through Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for carrying out onshore exploration, which involves two phases. The initial phase was 3D seismic survey of the whole block of 77.68 sq.km area. On the basis of the interpretation of the seismic survey, drilling of four wells will be carried out to the depth of 3400m. As discussed in earlier chapter, required regulatory approval for petroleum exploration has already been received in the form of Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) from Government of Gujarat and Government of India respectively.

As per the provisions of the PSC, IOCL would carry out exploration in two phases, in which first phase involves 3D seismic survey programme for entire block of 77.68 sq.km and drilling of four exploration wells to the depth of 3400m each, reprocessing of 570 LKM and magneto telluric of 250 stations, where as the second phase will comprise of drilling of one exploration well to the depth of 3400m.

This chapter discussed with the proposed activities, associated with the exploratory drilling of four wells. It includes description of the initial construction activities, drilling activities and activities associated with subsequent decommissioning of the wells.



FIGURE 3-1: EXTENT OF CB-ONN-2005/2 EXPLORATION BLOCK

3.2 OBJECTIVE OF PROPOSED DRILLING ACTIVITY

Secondary study about the overall region reviews that, the block and its surrounding area has the potential of having oil and gas. On the basis of this assumption, the 3D seismic survey of the acquired block has already been carried out to substantiate the presence of hydrocarbon in that region. On the basis of the interpretation of the seismic study, IOCL now plans to drill the exploration wells to determine the presence of hydrocarbon in the geological formation at a depth of upto 3400m.

The basic objectives of the exploratory drilling will be as follows:-

• To determine the presence of potential hydrocarbon in the area • To plan for the future production of oil & gas from the area



3.3 LOCATION & DESCRIPTION OF DRILLING WELLS

The locations for the drilling wells will be fixed once the seismic survey and its interpretation is over. However, the wells will be strictly confined within the acquired block itself. Since the exact drilling locations are yet to be determined, the details of the block location are provided herewith. The acquired exploratory block CB-ONN-2005/2 is situated in Mahesana and Patan district of Gujarat in the western part of India (Refer Figure 3-2 and Figure 3-3). The block is divided in two parts; namely Part-A & Part-B. Geographically Part A lies between the latitude of 23041’38.30”N to 23044’36.42”N and the longitude of 72003’50.60”E to 72009’35” E.

The block is surrounded by the town Patan in the north and Bechraji taluka in the south. Khari Nadi passes along the southeastern region outside the Part A of seismic block and is flowing from northeast towards southwest and then joins Rupen Nadi. Narmada Main Canal is running in between the two parts of the block towards north. The specific details of the wells are given in the following Table 3-1.

TABLE 3-1: DESCRIPTION OF WELL

Well characteristics Detailed information

Well Locations Yet to identify, however strictly confined within the Block CB-ONN-2005/2

Depth of well 3400 m Commencement of drilling September 2011 Total estimated drilling period 90-120 days/ well Total Estimated Testing Period 20 - 25 days/ well Proposed Drilling Fluid Water Based Mud



FIGURE 3-2: LOCATION MAP OF THE CAMBAY BASIN (CB-ONN-2005/2)



FIGURE 3-3: LOCATION MAP OF THE CAMBAY BASIN (CB-ONN-2005/2)…CONTD…

3.4 ACCESSIBILITY TO THE BLOCK

The acquired drilling block is easily accessible through the rail and road network. The nearest city from this part of the block is Mahesana, which is well connected through state highway. Part A is well connected to Mahesana through the SH-55.The two parts of the block come under the two different districts and are well connected to each other through SH-7. The nearest railway station to Part A is at Chanasma through which it is well connected to various intra-state regions by the meter gauge line of western railway. The internal village roads within this part of the block are also well developed, which can be used by IOCL for vehicular movement and for transportation of machineries, equipments as well as man power. The internal road connectivity map of the acquired block is given in Figure 3-4.



FIGURE 3-4: CONNECTIVITY MAP OF THE CAMBAY BASIN (CB-ONN-2005/2)

3.5 SITE SETTINGS OF THE EXPLORATORY BLOCK & SURROUNDING AREA

The acquired exploration block, CB-ONN-2005/2 of Cambay Basin is divided in two parts, Part A and Part B. This section describes the site settings and surrounding details of the Part A, located in the district of Patan.

3.5.1 Part A

Part A is located in the district of Patan. The block comprises of the land area of ten villages, namely Sevala, Sendha, Ruppur, Sardarpur, Jakhana, Jitoda, Dhanodarda, Jasalpur, Dharmoda, Sendhal. However, the land will be taken from these villages on temporary lease for drilling purposes and no land will be purchased.

The total area of this part is 28.68 sq.km. The major accessibility of this site is SH-55, which connects the site to Mahesana. The road comes from the southeastern part of the site at Kasbe Chanasma, from where it again goes towards west. This part is devoid of any forest cover or vegetation except few



plantations along the village roads. The village settlements are scattered within the whole area with few ponds of medium to large size.

3.5.2 Industries and Commercial Infrastructure in the surrounding area

The surrounding areas of the proposed exploratory block have infrastructural facilities for development of various industries of small and large scale units. The site surroundings of this part of the block upto 10 km radius area comprises of two districts, namely Mahesana and Patan. The details of industrial development in these districts are as follows:

Patan: food processing, agriculture and textile are the major vocational and industrial activities in Patan. There are 4,641 small scale industries in Patan district. Vegetable & Vanaspati, paper & pulp industry and food & processing industries are some of the major industries operating in the small scale sector in the district.

Patan has five industrial estates under GIDC, namely, Patan, Balisana, Lanva, Siddhpur and Chanasma.

Mahesana: Mahesana district has witnessed substantial industrial development over the past few years, primarily due to its strategic location. Engineering Industry (mainly metallurgical industries) and Food & Agro processing are the major industries of the district. The district has presence of Chemical industry like Nirma Ltd. Several petroleum companies like establishment of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and oil division of Essar Group are also found there within the district. The district has presence of a potato processing unit of McCain Foods; Mahesana also shows presence of some Mineral based industries, specially engaged in Glazing and Vitrifying tiles, Granite cutting and Polishing, Micronizing, Lavigation (Chinaclay, Fireclay), Silica sand crushing etc. Asia’s second largest dairy ‘Dudhsagar Milk Cooperative Dairy’ is located in the district.

There are more than 70 medium and large scale industries in Mehsana district primarily operating in Engineering, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Dairy products and in Oil and Textiles sectors. Some of them are producer of Air-conditioners, Synthetic fabrics, Pharmaceuticals, Hydroxyethyl Starch, Oil, Refined Edible Oil, Seamless carbon and Alloy Steel Pipe, Tiles, Cotton cloth, Dyes, Hospital equipments, Dairy products, Road construction & maintenance equipments, Soaps and detergents etc.

There are around 7,183 numbers of small scale industries operating in Mehsana district mainly engaged in Chemicals, Textiles, Rubber & Plastic articles, Metals, Repairing Services, Food & Agro processing and engineering sector. Mehsana has 2,406 units engaged in Repairing Services followed by 1221 in Textile units.

Mahesana has eight industrial estates, namely Kukarwada, Kheralu, Visnagar, Ranasan, Mehsana 1, Kadi, Gozaria and Mehsana 2.



3.6 PROJECT ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN EXPLORATORY DRILLING

The lifecycle of drilling activities at Patan involve well site selection, site and access road preparation and its maintenance, construction of drilling well, drilling activities, well testing and decommissioning and closure of wells, if not proved economically viable for production of oil and gas. The following flow chart of Figure 3-5 and Figure 3-6 shows the various phases of the drilling activities and model of drilling process respectively:

FIGURE 3-5: FLOW CHART SHOWING VARIOUS PHASES OF DRILLING ACTIVITIES

Site selection

Temporary land acquisition on lease

Site & access road preparation

Site Preparation

Drilling activities

Well testing

Decommissioning & closure of wells



FIGURE 3-6: MODEL OF DRILLING PROCESS

The various activities involved as a part of the drilling of exploration wells are described in detail in the subsequent sections.

3.6.1 Site Selection

The exploration history of the area exhibits the potential presence of the oil and gas in the region. Although the exact location of the wells has not been finalized, however, the seismic survey for initial assessment is already in process. The data interpretation of the seismic survey would decide the exact locations of the drilling well; however, the wells will be strictly confined within the acquired block itself.

3.6.2 Land acquisition

The land within the block will not be taken completely for drilling of well. An area of about 120m X 100m would be taken on temporary lease basis for the construction of well pad, drill site etc.

3.6.3 Site & Access road preparation

The site is already well connected with the SH-55 and SH-7. The internal village roads of Part – A of the block are also well developed, which can be used by IOCL for



transportation of machineries, equipments and drilling crew members. Additionally strengthening of the existing approach road to the site can be done if required for transportation of drilling rig & associated equipment.

In general, movement of drilling rig and ancillary equipment would involve around 20-25 truck load for approximately one and half years. A provision will be kept for parking of these cars within the developed site or its nearby area.

3.6.4 Site Preparation

Site preparation will involve all activities required to facilitate the operation of the drilling rig and associated equipments and machineries. At the initial stage, the drilling site will be elevated to about 2.0 m from the existing ground level with minimal clearance of existing ground vegetation. The loose top soil will be removed by using mechanical means like dozer and saved at a nearby place for later use during site restoration. Leveling and compaction will be done with the help of graders and mechanical rollers. The land filling materials and rubbles will be required for the purpose of site preparation in sufficient amount. All such materials will be procured by IOCL through contractors and it will be ensured that they source the materials from government approved borrows and quarries. A backhoe will be used for all excavation and cutting activities (for construction of pits) on site. Subsequently, the proposed well site & campsite will be duly fenced using chain link and barbed wires.

Platforms for drill pad and all other heavy equipment systems or machinery, cast in-situ Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) will be used for the construction of foundation system. The rig foundation will be of 20m X 20m in size and will have an elevation of 0.6 m. For making the foundations of main rig structure, cast in-situ bored under- reamed piles of specified lengths will also be used. The elevated structures will have proper garland drains for storm water with sufficient gradient, made of brick masonry, to take care of surface runoff water.

Specially designed pit of an impervious HDPE liner of 1-1.5 mm thickness will be provided as part of the site development for disposal of drilling waste in the form of spent drilling mud and cuttings. In addition to that, a cuttings pit of 28m X 24m for disposal of drill cuttings and two waste pits of 17m X 12m for disposal of drilling mud and rig wash water will be provided.

A Campsite of size 100 x 50m, elevated to the height as that of the drilling site (approx. 2.0 m), will be set up adjoining the well site. Local earth and rubble will be used as the fill material. The rubble will be of 60cms and the filling material will be for the remaining 40cms. The surface will have a 150mm thick WBM layer. Proper surface gradients and brick masonry drains will take care of the run-off water, where as separate



septic tanks and soak pits will be provided along with the labour camp for disposal of domestic waste water.

The transport of the Rig including auxiliary equipments and camp facilities to the site are expected to comprise around 20-25 truck loads. Though the rig and related equipments will be directly brought to site, spares, mud preparing chemicals and other materials will be stored at a warehouse near to the site and will be received to the site from that intermediate storage area. The rig equipment will however be transported directly to the drilling site during mobilization and will be de-mobilized directly from the site. The materials will be intermittently supplied from warehouse to the drilling site, during the operations - with some stock at the drilling site itself.

3.6.5 Drilling Activities

Initial Well Construction

Wells will be drilled in sections, with the diameter of each section decreasing with increasing depth. Before commencing the actual drilling, large diameter pipe (Conductor) will be lowered into a hole and cemented/grouted. Conductor pipes provide a conduit for the return fluid during drilling next section and also prevent whole unconsolidated material falling into hole and potential washout problems. Typical depths of such pipes are 6m.

The lengths and diameters of each section of the well will be determined prior to the starting of the drilling activities and are dependent on the geological conditions through which the well is to be drilled. Once each section of the well is completed, the drill string is lifted and protective steel pipe or casing lowered into the well and cemented into place. The casing helps to maintain the stability of the hole and reduce fluid losses from the well bore into surrounding rock formations.

The Drilling Process

The exploitation of hydrocarbons requires the construction of a conduit between the surface and the reservoir, which is achieved by the drilling process. All the four exploration wells within the block will be drilled using an Electric Land Rig of around 1200-1500 HP capacity, equipped with a Rotory/Top Drive System. The typical configuration of a Drilling Rig along with the layout plan is shown in the Figure 3-7. IOCL will appoint a Drilling Contractor to carry out the drilling work, although the Drilling Contractor has not yet been selected and tendering process is presently in progress. To support the drilling operation, the following systems and services will be included at the rig package:



• Portable Living Quarters – to house essential personnel on site on a 24 hr basis. These units are provided with Bath/Washroom.

• Crane-age - cranes for loading/off loading equipment and supplies. • Emergency Systems - it includes fire detection and protection equipment. • Environmental Protection – Blow out Prevention (BOP) system, wastewater

treatment unit, cuttings handling equipment. Additionally, there will be other ancillary facilities like Drilling mud system, ETP, Cuttings disposal, Drill Cementing equipment etc. and utilities to supply Power (DG sets), water, fuel (HSD) to the drilling process and will be set up as a part of the project.

FIGURE 3-7: TYPICAL CONFIGURATION OF A DRILLING RIG

Mud System and Cuttings

During drilling operations a fluid known as drilling fluid (or ‘mud’) is pumped through the drill string down to the drilling bit and returns between the drill pipe – casing annulus up to surface back into the circulation system after separation of drill cuttings /solids through solids control equipment. Drilling fluid is important to the operation of drilling rig, as it performs the following functions:



• Control the down hole pressure; • Lift soil/rock cuttings from the bottom of the borehole and carry them to a settling

pit; • Allow cuttings to drop out in the mud pit so that they are not re-circulated

(influenced by mud thickness, flow rate in the settling pits and shape/size of the pits);

• Prevent cuttings from rapidly settling while another length of drill pipe is being added (if cuttings drop too fast, they can build up on top of the bit and seize it in the hole);

• Create a film of small particles on the borehole wall to prevent caving and to ensure that the upward flowing stream of drilling fluid does not erode the adjacent formation;

• Seal the borehole wall to reduce fluid loss (minimizing volumes of drilling fluid is especially important in dry areas where water must be carried from far away);

• Cool and clean the drill bit; and • Lubricate the bit, bearings, mud pump and drill pipe.

It has been decided that a uniform environment-friendly water-based mud system will be used for all the four exploratory wells. Unlike an oil-based mud system, the use of water-based mud will not pose higher risk of contamination to subsurface formations, but the disposal of the fluid and the cuttings will be less problematic. Because of the anticipated borehole instability problems it may be necessary to introduce a base salt, such as Potassium Sulphate (K2SO4) into the system. Base salt additions will only be considered after all commonly accessed freshwater aquifers have been securely cased and cemented off. However, the ground water level in this region lies at very lower depth below the ground.

The mud used during the operation will flush out formation cuttings from the well hole. These cuttings will be separated from the drilling mud using a solids-control and waste management package. This will comprise a stepped system of processes consisting of linear motion vibrating screens called shakers and centrifuges to mechanically separate cuttings from the mud fluid. The mud from the hole is first screened in the shakers through a mud flow line which separates 100 micron size of cuttings. The solids upto 2micron are separated in a centrifuge. The mud is then collected in mud tanks I & II (Refer Fig 3-7).Both the cuttings from the shale shakers and centrifuge are collected in a solid discharge pit and then removed to a specially designed pit lined with HDPE of 20m x25m x1.5m dimension. This cuttings pit has a certain slope to drain off water in the adjacent waste pit. This pit after being filled up shall be covered with an impervious liner over which a thick layer of native top-soil with proper top slope will be provided. The



total amount of mud cuttings produce during the entire drilling period is projected to be about 800 MT per well.

Once the cuttings have been separated, the drilling fluid will be reused or processed after further treatment in a chemically enhanced dewatering (CED) system designed to remove suspended solids that are too fine for mechanical separation in the solids control package. The CED system comprises a chemical mixing and dosing unit and decanting centrifuges. The unusable portion of the drilling mud after dewatering shall be disposed on-site in a lined pit (HDPE 1-1.5mm thickness) conforming to the regulatory requirements. The drilling and wash waste water will be confined to a similar HDPE lined waste pit and then disposed into nearby natural drain after adequate treatment complying with the notified standards for disposal. Dilution in case of marginal excess of standards can be ensured prior to disposal conforming to regulatory requirements.

The whole process by which the drilling fluid will be reused during the drilling operation is commonly known as a “closed loop system.” This system is ideal for drilling operations in those areas, where water availability is comparatively less as it cuts down the total water consumption for the formulation of drilling mud and also saves the consumption of chemicals. The drilling fluid circulation system is likely to be considered to enable the drilling fluid to be recycled and maintained in good condition through out the operation. Figure 3-8 shows the schematic layout of drilling mud & solids discharge involved as a part of the drilling system for exploratory wells.



FIGURE 3-8: FLOW CHART FOR DRILLING MUD & SOLID DISCHARGE

LEGEND:

1) LIQUID/ MUD FLOW

2) SOLID/ CUTTINGS

3) FLOW FOR DEWATERING

WASTE WATER PIT

TANK - III

PUMPS

FEED PUMP

CENTRIFUGE

STORAGE TANK FOR DE-WATERINGSOLID DISCHARGE PIT-I

CUTTINGS PIT

WELL

TANK -I TANK - II

TREATED TO COMPLY WITH STIPULATED STANDARDS

DISCHARGED TO NEARBY SURFACE WATER BODY



The mud chemicals will be added to the mud system to adjust the mud properties and to ensure the following functions:

Fluid Loss Control

A thin cake of cohesive mud on the wall of the well bore retards passage of liquid into the surrounding rock formation. Bentonite as well as naturally occurring additives such as starch and cellulose are used.

Lost Circulation

Naturally occurring fibrous, filamentous, granular or flake materials are used to stop lost circulation when the drill bit enters a porous or fractured formation. Typical materials include groundnut shells and mica (max. 30%).

Lubricity

Normally the drilling fluid is sufficient to lubricate and cool the bit. However, under extreme loading, other lubricants are added to prevent the drill string from becoming stuck.

Shale Inhibition

Potassium assists in the hydration of shales which in turns prevent their sloughing into the well bore. This potassium ion is normally introduced to the mud via potassium chloride (KCl). In this well, to minimize any impact on the environment, potassium sulphate (K2SO4) will be used.

pH Control.

Caustic and lime are used to control the alkalinity of the fluid to a pH of 9 to 10. This ensures the optimum performance of the polymers in the fluid and controls bacterial activity.

Pressure Control

Barite is generally used as a weighting agent to control down hole pressure.

Cementing Programme

Cementing is a necessary aspect of exploratory drilling oil and gas wells. Cement is used to fulfill the following works:

• Secure/support casing strings • Isolate zones for production purposes



Cementing generally utilizes Portland cement (API Class G Oil Well Cement) with various additives in small quantities as accelerators/retarders, density adjusters, dispersants, fluid loss additives, anti gas migration additives etc.

3.6.6 Well evaluation

During the drilling operations for different zones, logging operations will be undertaken to get information on the potential type and quantities of hydrocarbons present in the target formations.

Technicians employed by a specialist logging Service Company do well logging by different well logging techniques including electric, sonic and radioactive techniques. Logging instruments (sensors) are attached to the bottom of a wire line and lowered to the bottom of the well and they are then slowly brought back. The devices read different data as they pass each formation and record it on graphs, which will be interpreted by the geologist, geophysicist and drilling engineer. No emissions to the environment or any environmental harm is associated with wire line logging operations. The radioactive source required for well logging operations will be kept in specially designed container.

In this drilling procedure, once the drilling is over, the well evaluation will be done by using electric wire line logs to assess the potential of the reservoir. This typically involves sampling the reservoir formation and pressure points during logging operations and reduces the requirement to flow hydrocarbons to the surface, significantly reducing the atmospheric emissions associated with the testing operation.

Normally, in the event that hydrocarbons are encountered in sufficient quantities, as determined by electric wire line logs, a temporary drill stem test string may be run and the well fluids flowed to surface and processed using a surface well testing package, involving the oil being stored and trucked off the site and associated gas being flared to atmosphere.

3.6.7 Completion of drilling

On completion of activities, the well will be either plugged and suspended (if the well evaluations indicate commercial quantities of hydrocarbons) or will be killed and permanently abandoned. In the event of a decision to suspend the well, it will be filled with a brine solution containing very small quantities of inhibitors to protect the well. The well will be sealed with cement plugs and some of the wellhead equipment (Blind Flange) will be left on the surface (Cellar).

If the well is abandoned it will be sealed with a series of cement plugs, all the wellhead equipment will be removed, by leaving the surface clear of any debris and the site will be restored.



3.6.8 Decommissioning & closure of wells

After the completion of the drilling activity, partial de-mobilization of the drilling rig and associated infrastructure will be initiated. As discussed earlier, well testing may be carried out immediately after the drilling is completed. The complete de-mobilization of the facilities at site will happen once well-testing completed successfully. This will involve the dismantling of the rig, all associated equipments and the residential camp, and transporting it out of the project area. It is expected that demobilization will take approximately 20-25 days and will involve the trucking away of materials, equipments and other materials from the site to bring it back to its original condition. It is estimated that about 50 truckloads will be transported out of site during this period.

If no indication of any commercially viable amount of oil or gas is encountered either before or after testing, the well will be declared dry and accordingly will be plugged of and abandoned, and the site will be restored in line with regulations and good industry practice. The following steps will be typically involved to restore and rehabilitate the area:

• The wellhead and all casing string will be cut off to a minimum depth of 3 m (10 ft) below ground level.

• All concrete structures will be broken up, and the debris disposed off as per the regulatory requirements.

• All other waste products, solid and liquid, will be disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the EIA and will be treated to render them harmless.

• All fencing and access gates will be removed. • All pits whose contents will show regulatory compliance for on-site disposal, at the

time of site closure, will be backfilled and closed out as per the legal requirements. • Restoration of unusable portion of the access track, removal of pilings and

landscaping.

3.7 UTILITIES & RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

The utilities considered for the proposed drilling operation include requirement of skilled as well as unskilled workers, place for accommodation for outside workers, availability of roads for movement of personnel and machineries, power, fuel and water requirement for drilling & associated activities, place for waste dumping and other infrastructure facilities. The details on these aspects are presented in this section:

Manpower Requirement and Accommodation:

The project will be employing considerable manpower for all the phases. The Site preparation phase of 60 days will employ on an average about 30 to 35 workmen.



The total number of personnel involved in the drilling activities is expected to be about 40. At any one time there will be around 40 staff including security personnel on the well site, thus a Camp Site will be set up to provide boarding & lodging. Rest of the staff, (if required), will be housed in nearby hotels or in the temporary camps within the nearby villages and will continue to travel regularly to the well site.

It is to be mentioned here, that the site preparation activities including the transportation of heavy equipments and machinery to site may involve temporary shifting of some existing utilities like overhead power lines, phone lines, water pipelines which will be restored by IOCL on top priority basis.

Water Requirement:

The total water requirement for the site preparation during construction phase of the project is estimated to be about 10-12 KLD.

The total projected average consumption of water during the drilling phase will be about 35-40 KLD to run the drilling rig continuously, 24hrs a day. The water availability in this part of the block is from local surface water bodies, namely Narmada Canal (after taking due permission from the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited) or from the ponds or well (depending upon the availability of water in them).

Power Supply & Fuel Consumption:

The power requirements during the site preparation and construction phase will be met by DG Sets. Although the drilling operations will be continuous, the power requirement will vary depending on the activities being carried out. It is anticipated that the energy source is a part of the drilling rig to be used and of around 1200-1500 HP. Four DG sets of 500 KVA each will suffice the requirement of rig operations. Another small DG set of 100 KVA will be provided for the labour camp or pota cabin for lighting and other emergency requirements.

The fuel consumed will mainly be diesel used by rig, various equipments and generators, which will be used for lighting and other emergency requirements within the site.

During the drilling phase, the fuel consumption is estimated to be about 5 – 6 KLD of HSD. Out of this, a major part will be consumed by the Rig including the DG sets and the rest will be for the Campsite. There will be on –site storage for fuel, which will be provided by the drilling contractor and transported to the site by tanker lorries.

Resource & Chemical Usage

Various chemicals will be used during the drilling phase, mainly for preparation of drilling mud. At the planning stage, an estimate of the potential usage for every chemical



will be made and documented in Chemical Usage tracking sheet. During the operation phase also, chemical usage will be monitored and efforts will be made to reduce or conserve its usage as much as technically feasible.

Other infrastructural facility

Warehouse: IOCL will construct a warehouse facility for temporary storage of cementing materials, various chemicals and HSD; Steel casing pipes and materials required for exploratory drilling activities; Tools and other equipments etc. The warehouse will be dismantled later on. The approximate dimension of the warehouse would be 500-800sqm, depending on the quantity of materials to be handled and stored. All the material will be stored there temporarily and from there, will be supplied to the original well locations, as required.

Logistics: As mentioned earlier, the site is well connected through western railway track and road network. The internal village roads within the blocks are also well developed, which can be used as a means of transportation of vehicles and machineries within the site and materials from the warehouse to the site. However the temporary new approach roads can be constructed, if required and existing roads may be improved for smooth and hassle free movement of personnel as well as materials and machineries.

Hired vehicles would be used for carrying personnel as well as equipments to the site. The heavy vehicles, like trucks and tankers would be used for movement of materials and equipments; where as light motor vehicles would carry personnel to the site.



4.0 Description of the Present Environment

This chapter describes the present environmental settings of this Part A of the block. This includes the physical environment comprising of land, water, air, noise, the biological environment and socio-economic environment.

Attributes of the physical environment like air, water, soil and noise quality in the surrounding area were assessed based on secondary data made available from reconnaissance visit to the site and monitoring of the various environmental parameters that has been carried out in this region earlier. The detailed information on the geology, meteorology, prevailing natural hazards like floods, biological characteristics of the area have been collected from literature reviews, past studies and information made available by government departments/local agencies. Reconnaissance field surveys and consultations were also carried out with local people and government departments/agencies viz. Regional Forest Office of Chanasma etc to understand and record the biological environment prevailing in the area and the same was verified against published information and literature. Besides this, the socioeconomic environment has been studied through consultations with various stakeholders with a strong focus on the neighboring villages. Additionally, socioeconomic data have been obtained from the Census and various government departments. The major purposes of describing the environmental settings of the area are:

• To understand the project need and environmental characteristics of the area. • To assess the existing environmental quality, as well as the environmental impacts

of the future operations being carried out. • To identify environmentally significant factors or geographical areas that could

preclude any future development.

Identification of both typical and extreme physical conditions that may occur over the drilling period for the proposed well have been done and will allow for prediction of any discharges from drilling operations and also enables selection of the appropriate rig, equipment and training, thereby maximizing level of safety during the drilling operation phase.

4.1 LAND

4.1.1 Land use pattern

The existing land use pattern and land cover distribution of Part A of the acquired block have been studied from the satellite imagery and subsequent ground checking during the field surveys.



Land use pattern of Part A:

It mainly comprises of agricultural land with bi-annual crops of Kharif (Kharif: Jowar, Bajra, Cotton, etc. Season: July to October) and Rabi (Rabi: Wheat, Rai etc. Season: December to March). The presence of the agricultural land is followed by few dense settlements (Jasalpur, Ruppura, Jitoda) and natural or man-made pond etc. The shortage of rainfall, availability of ground water at deeper level and other climatic condition do not support good agricultural productivity inspite of having enough land. There is no demarcated forest land within the Part-A, however, some scattered plantations are found through out the block, especially along the periphery of the villages. The land-use distribution of the exploratory block is shown in Figure 4.1.

FIGURE 4-1: LAND USE MAP OF PART A OF THE BLOCK



TABLE 4-1: LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF THE EXPLORATORY BLOCK

Land-use Type Part-A

Area (sq km) Percentage

Agricultural land 26.78 93.30 Settlements 0.27 0.96 Open scrub 0.63 2.19 Roads 0.69 2.44 Railway line 0.21 0.75 Water bodies 0.10 0.36 Total 28.68 100

4.1.2 Site details of 5 km radius area

The site surrounding area of upto 5 km radius has been studied at the initial stage, mainly on the basis of available satellite imagery of the area. The site surrounding area of Part A comprises of agricultural land, followed by few scattered settlements and State Highways (SH-55 and SH-7). Chanasma town is located almost adjacent to the Part-A of the block. Narmada Main Canal flows along the southwest of the Part-A at a distance of 4.4 km from the site boundary and Khari Nadi is flowing at a distance of 3.6km towards southeast of the Part-A of the block. The surrounding features of upto 5 km area do not have any reserve forest or any sensitive features and neither have any archaeological sites.

Satellite imagery, showing the details of site surroundings of upto 5km radius area from Part-A of the block is shown in Figure 4-2.



FIGURE 4-2: SATELLITE IMAGERY FOR 5 KM AREA OF PART-A

4.1.3 Topography and Drainage

The topography of the proposed block is mainly plain land having the slope of the land from northeast towards southwest direction.

Part –A does not have any river or stream crossing within the area.

4.1.4 Physiography and Geology

A study of the secondary data reveals that the geological formation of the sub surface layer belongs to the Archean age to Pleistocene age. The various geological formation of Mahesana - Ahmedabad block comprises of Gujarat alluvium, Jambusar Formation, Broach formation, Jhagadia Formation, Kand Formation, Babaguru Formation. The sub-surface geology also shows presence of Deccan trap group, Granite and Songir formation during the age of Upper Cretaceous, Lower Cretaceous to Jurassic and Archean period respectively. The generalized stratigraphy of the region and stratigraphic sequence encountered in Bechraji is presented in Figure 4-3 and Figure 4-4 respectively.



FIGURE 4-3: REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHY OF CAMBAY BASIN

Source: NELP-VII/Cambay Basin



FIGURE 4-4: REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHY OF CAMBAY BASIN

Source: NELP-VII/Cambay Basin

4.1.5 Occurrence of Land Subsidence

The baseline data for land subsidence in Cambay Basin has been obtained from two studies conducted by Indian institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai and Central Mining Research Institute, (CMRI) Dhanbad. This study has shown that the subsidence is a function of the pressure of the reservoir and its depth.



The investigation carried out by Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), Dhanbad during August, 2004 to June, 2005 and again in November, 2006 and November, 2007 for the Bhima Gas Field (Block CB-ONN-2000/2) near Surat, Gujarat where the gas reservoir is at shallow depth. This study of land subsidence in Cambay Basin area led to the following conclusion:

No land subsidence movement has been observed for pressure depletion of 1.6 - 4.7 kg/cm2. However, pressure depletion in the range of 7.2 - 12.5 kg /cm2 in the shallow reservoir showed subsidence of 162 mm, slope of 1.73 mm/meter and compressive and tensile strain of 1.42 and 0.75 mm/meter. On the other hand, in case of deep gas reservoir, the land subsidence, slope, compressive and tensile strains for the same pressure depletion of 7.22 - 12.5 kg/cm2 was 37 mm, 0.78mm and 0.36 mm/m and 0.20 mm/m respectively.

4.1.6 Soil Condition

As per the discussion with local people during primary survey and the various secondary data, nearly 90 percent of the soil of Patan district is sandy in nature. The soil salinity is on higher side and can yield crops only under optimum rainfall conditions. The secondary soil monitoring data, acquired from the monitoring and analysis of soil quality studies carried out in the region during pre-monsoon season to assess the existing soil quality status. The soil sampling locations along with distance and directions and detailed analysis results depicting the physico-chemical characteristics of soils in the representative locations within the study area is given in Table 4-2 and Table 4–3 respectively. The map showing the soil sampling locations within the block is given in Figure 4-5.

TABLE 4-2: SOIL SAMPLING LOCATIONS

Station Code Name of Place Locations Type of Area

S – 1 Near Ruppur bus stand, Village Ruppur

Part – A of the block

Residential area-agricultural land

S - 2 Village Chanasma Part – A of the block

Town area



FIGURE 4-5: MAP SHOWING SOIL SAMPLING LOCATIONS



TABLE 4-3: RESULTS OF SOIL SAMPLE ANALYSIS

S No. Parameter Unit S4 S5

1 Porosity % 48 51 2 Water holding capacity % 43.64 38.67 3 Permeability Cm/sec 6.81x10-4 7.29x10-4 4 Moisture % 2.38 5.9 5 Particle size distribution a Sand % 64.68 60.68 b Clay % 26.72 24.72 c Silt % 8.60 14.6 6 Texture Sandy Loam Sandy Loam 7 Cation Exchange Capacity Mg/100 gm 13.20 12.40 8 Electrical conductivity µmoh/cm 232.00 168.80 9 Organic Carbon % - - 10 Sodium Absorption Ratio - 0.59 0.43 11 pH 7.53 7.56 12 Calcium gm/kg 0.35 0.26 13 Magnesium gm/kg 0.22 0.33 14 Sodium gm/kg 0.26 0.20 15 Potassium gm/kg 0.04 0.04

Interpretation of soil sample analysis

The soil texture in the area is mainly sandy in nature with very low water holding capacity, which ultimately causes less availability of the moisture content in the soil. It would not be very suitable for cultivation even with irrigation also, as the water quickly drains out from the soil. The sandy soil within the block can be cultivated it become rich in organic material but due to its coarse texture, it might quickly drain water out, resulting in dehydration of the plants in summer.

4.1.7 Seismicity of the area

The proposed seismic block of Cambay Basin is situated in the moderate damage risk zone MSK VI as per the Earthquake Hazard Map of India. The seismic zoning map showing the proposed exploratory block is shown in the Figure 4-6.



FIGURE 4-6: SEISMIC ZONING MAP OF INDIA SHOWING PROJECT SITE

4.2 WATER QUALITY AND WATER AVAILABILITY SCENARIO

Ground water is available at a depth of approximately 1000 feet, from where the water is drawn through the bore wells. Bore wells are used in the villages for drinking, cattle washing and other domestic purposes. Earlier, the ground water was the only source of water for villagers to perform household activities and agricultural work, but presently, Sardar Sarovar Project has been implemented over the state of Gujarat, as a part of which Narmada Canal has also became an important source of water in the district of Patan. The water from Narmada Canal goes to the filtering station of Samlapura village of Mahesana district, from where the water goes to the pumping station at Mudhera village. The water is supplied to all the villages from this pumping station through the pipeline.

The water of village ponds is mainly used for washing of cloths, cattle and other domesticated animals. The water from Narmada Canal is also used for irrigation purposes in agricultural land, as the ground water is available in this region at a very greater depth.

The filtered water of Narmada Canal is potable in nature, where as the ground water obtained through the bore well is having high fluoride concentration in it. The monitoring of these surface and ground water bodies has been carried out within the block, to assess the existing condition of the water. The location of the surface and ground water monitoring stations is shown in Figure 4-7. The results of the ground and surface water sampling are given in Table 4-4 and Table 4-5 respectively.



FIGURE 4-7: SURFACE AND GROUND WATER MONITORING LOCATIONS



TABLE 4-4: GROUND WATER MONITORING RESULTS

IS 10500 Standard Limits for Drinking Water

Ground Water Quality

(Source: Bore well)

S No. Parameters Unit Desirable Limit

Permissible Limit

GW1 GW2

1 pH pH scale 6.5 – 8.5 6.5 – 8.5 7.38 7.42 2 Temperature 0C NS NS 31 32 3 Turbidity NTU 5 10 Nil Nil 4 TDS mg/l 500 2000 1564 1108 5 Electrical Conductivity µmho/cm NS NS 2234 1840 6 COD mg/l NS NS < 4 < 4 7 BOD mg/l NS NS < 1 < 1 8 Ammonical Nitrogen mg/l NS NS 0.16 < 0.056 9 Phenol mg/l 0.001 0.002 < 0.001 < 0.001 10 Chlorides mg/l 250 1000 660 434 11 Sulphates mg/l 200 400 153 131 12 SAR - NS NS 4.91 3.21 13 Total Hardness mg/l 300 600 370 220 14 Ca++ Hardness mg/l NS NS 162 132 15 Mg++ Hardness mg/l NS NS 208 88 16 Total Alkalinity mg/l 200 600 430 440 17 Nitrate mg/l 45 100 9.74 15.44 18 Fluoride mg/l 1 1.5 0.83 0.78 19 Sodium mg/l NS NS 218 110 20 Potassium mg/l NS NS 2 2 21 Calcium mg/l 75 200 64.93 52.91 22 Magnesium mg/l 30 100 50.54 21.38 23 Salinity mg/l NS NS 1188 781.2 24 Total Nitrogen mg/l NS NS 2.4 3.55 25 Total Phosphorous mg/l NS NS 0.13 0.11 26 Dissolved Oxygen mg/l NS NS 4.9 5.8 27 Heavy Metals -

a Aluminium as Al mg/l - - - - b Arsenic as As mg/l 0.05 NR < 0.03 < 0.03 c Cadmium as Cd mg/l 0.01 NR < 0.001 < 0.001 d Chromium as Cr mg/l 0.05 NR < 0.01 < 0.01



IS 10500 Standard Limits for Drinking Water

Ground Water Quality

(Source: Bore well)

S No. Parameters Unit Desirable Limit

Permissible Limit

GW1 GW2

e Copper as Cu mg/l 0.05 1.5 0.29 0.43 f Cyanide as CN mg/l 0.05 NR Nil Nil g Iron as Fe mg/l 0.3 1 0.166 < 0.006 h Lead as Pb mg/l 0.05 NR < 0.02 < 0.02 i Mercury as Hg mg/l 0.001 NR <0.0008 <0.0008 j Manganese as Mn mg/l 0.1 0.3 < 0.007 < 0.007 k Nickel as Ni mg/l - - < 0.07 < 0.07 l Selenium as Se mg/l 0.05 NR - -

m Vanadium as V mg/l - - < 0.002 < 0.002 n Zinc as Zn mg/l 5 15 0.2 0.4

28 Total Coliform MPN 10/100ml 10/100ml < 2 < 2 29 Faecal Coliform MPN 10/100ml 10/100 ml < 2 < 2

GW1: Haripura village; GW2: Adhiwad village; GW3: Ruppur village; GW4: Chanasma village



TABLE 4-5: SURFACE WATER MONITORING RESULTS

SW-1

Sr. No.

Parameters Unit Pond at Ruppur

Village

1 pH pH Scale 7.20

2 Total Dissolved Oxygen mg/l 5.8

3 BOD mg/l 20

4 Sodium Absorption Ratio mg/gm 0.53

5 Electrical Conductivity µmoh/cm 450

6 Free NH3 (Ammonical Nitrogen)

mg/l 0.04

7 Boron as B mg/l 0.078 8 Total Coliform MPN/100ml 28 9 Total Carbon - -

Class D

Interpretation of ground water quality

The physio-chemical analysis of the ground water samples suggest that the quality of water is above the desirable limits but within the permissible limits for most of the parameters at both the sampling locations. However, concentration of heavy metals, total coliform and feacal coliform are also well within the desirable limits of IS 10500 Standard, limits specified for drinking water.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is a measure of combined content of all inorganic and organic substances in a liquid in molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal sol) suspended form, which is present in ground water sample of both the locations but within the permissible limit. Although TDS is generally not considered as a primary pollutant, the principal application of TDS in the study of water quality is an indication of aesthetic characteristics of drinking water.

High TDS levels generally indicate hard water and high salinity which is caused due to the presence of calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium cations and bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate anions. Salinity can render water undrinkable and un-useable for agricultural purposes.

Thus, it has been observed that the ground water from these locations can be used for drinking only after chemical treatment.



Interpretation of Surface water quality

The surface water monitoring results has been compared with the CPCB standard, mentioned for best use classification of surface water. The monitoring results show that, the water quality in the pond near Ruppur village is only suitable for wildlife propagation and fisheries. In practice also, this water is mainly used for cattle washing and other domestic purposes. The water of pond at Ambala village is only suitable for irrigational purposes and for controlled disposal. The water from these sources can not be used for drinking purposes.

4.3 NOISE CONDITION

As per the reconnaissance survey visit, the proposed seismic block does not envisage any major noise generating activities except the vehicular movement in the nearby road. Four state highways (SH-7 and SH-55) pass near or within the proposed seismic block, over which vehicular traffic movement occurs through out the day. This is the major noise generating source to the region, as no such factories are present within the acquired block. Monitoring of prevailing noise quality has been carried out within the exploratory block at three stations, which are shown in Figure 4-8. The noise monitoring results is given in Table 4-6.

TABLE 4-6: NOISE MONITORING RESULTS

Daytime (Ldn) in dB (A)

Nighttimes (Ln) dB (A)

Location Type of land Results Limits Results Limits

N1 Agricultural land (NW of the block)

52.9 55 45.8 45

N2 Jitoda village 52.8 55 44.7 45 N3 Ruppur village 53.6 55 46.6 45

Interpretation of noise quality

The noise monitoring within this Part B of the block reveals that the existing day time noise level at all the villages ranges from 52.8 dB (A) to 53.6 dB (A), which is actually within the day time noise limits of 55 dB (A). This existing noise level occurs from the traffic movement in the nearby State Highways with variant traffic volume. The night time noise level shows the same characteristics with a slightly increase in noise level in agricultural land of the northwestern part of the block. The occasional midnight traffic of heavy motor vehicles may be the main contributing factor to this slightly increased noise level. Figure 4-8 shows the noise monitoring locations within the acquired block.



FIGURE 4-8: MAP SHOWING NOISE MONITORING LOCATIONS



4.4 TRAFFIC CONDITION

The traffic monitoring has been carried out at major junction near or around the block. The two major points have been considered near to Part-A of the block. T1 is located over SH-55, mainly where it enters the Part-A of the block and T2 is the exiting point of the block and it is located on the same road, i.e. SH-55. The traffic survey results are tabulated and described in Table 4-7 to Table 4-8 and its graphical representations are given in Figure 4-9 to Figure 4-10.



TABLE 4-7: TRAFFIC ANALYSIS AT T1

T1 Chanasma to Mahesana

Time 2W 3W LMV HMV

Morning (8.00 - 12.00) 160 142 40 74 88 120 127 121 Noon (12.00-16.00) 86 125 36 72 84 112 107 90 Evening (16.00-20.00) 123 136 72 51 107 88 95 103 Night (20.00-00.00) 53 83 10 11 28 49 44 74 Midnight (00.00-04.00) 6 0 0 0 0 2 17 12 Early Morning (04.00-08.00) 49 36 14 24 18 21 56 60

FIGURE 4-9: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF TRAFFIC SURVEY AT T1

TRAFFIC SURVEY NEAR CHANSAMA VILLAGE

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

Moring (8.00 ‐ 12.00) Noon (12.00‐16.00) Evening (16.00‐20.00) Night (20.00‐00.00) MidNight (00.00‐04.00) Early Morning (04.00‐08.00)

Time Period

Num

ber

of V

ehic

les

2W 3W LMV HMV

From Chansama to Mehsana From Mehsana to Chansama

The traffic survey along this road shows that, during morning hours, the maximum concentration of two wheelers and HMV are found along this road on both the to and fro direction mainly due to the presence of villages and small settlements in the vicinity. In the same manner, the evening trend of traffic shows the similar movement of traffic with major concentration of two wheelers and HMV, followed by movement of LMV. During the night time, only LMVs and HMVs ply along this road on both to and fro direction, where as midnight traffic composition is basically shows the movement of HMV.



TABLE 4-8: TRAFFIC ANALYSIS AT T2

T2 Chanasma to Radhanpur

Time 2W 3W LMV HMV

Morning (8.00 - 12.00) 135 57 51 48 73 82 48 64 Noon (12.00-16.00) 87 75 69 51 56 58 56 79 Evening (16.00-20.00) 122 70 20 52 50 46 76 46 Night (20.00-00.00) 58 29 21 17 32 25 25 35 Midnight (00.00-04.00) 2 0 0 0 7 1 17 10 Early Morning (04.00-08.00) 43 19 13 10 23 11 18 24

FIGURE 4-10: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF TRAFFIC SURVEY AT T2

TRAFFIC SURVEY NEAR DHARONDA VILLAGE

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Moring (8.00 ‐ 12.00) Noon (12.00‐16.00) Evening (16.00‐20.00) Night (20.00‐00.00) MidNight (00.00‐04.00) Early Morning (04.00‐08.00)

Time Period

Num

ber

of V

ehic

les

2W 3W LMV HMV

From Chansama to Radhanpur

From Radhanpur to Chansama

As per the traffic survey along this road, during morning hours, the maximum concentration of two wheelers, followed by LMVs are found along this road on both the to and fro direction. The concentration of these two types of traffic is lessened during noon hours, where as the evening hours again show the increasing trend of two-wheelers and LMVs. Three wheelers, HMVs and LMVs are much higher in number during afternoon period as compared to the two whelers. During the night time, LMVs, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and HMVs ply on the road on both to and fro direction, where as midnight traffic composition is basically shows the movement of HMV.



4.5 AIR QUALITY

4.5.1 Climate and meteorology

According to the various secondary data available and the climatic trend of Gujarat as per IMD, Puna, the climatic condition of the northern region of Gujarat is dry in nature. The year can be divided into the winter season from November to February; the hot season from March to May; the south-west monsoon season from June to September and the intervening month of October.

As the Tropic of Cancer passes through the northern border of Gujarat, the state has an intensely hot or cold climate, although the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Cambay in the west has softened the rigors of climatic extremes.

Most of area receives very low average rainfall. Certain areas in Ahmedabad and Patan districts face chronic scarcity of adequate rains. The climatic trend of past 30 years for the IMD Station at Ahmedabad (as this is the nearest IMD station to Patan district) has been studied, which is given in Table 4-9.

TABLE 4-9: CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR IMD STATION AT AHMEDABAD (1951-1980)

Month Mean max. temp (°C)

Mean min. temp (°C)

Total rainfall (mm)

Mean wind speed (m/s)

Predominant wind direction

January 32.1 7.3 2.6 1.6 NE February 35.7 8.5 1.1 1.6 NE March 40.2 13.1 1.0 1.7 NW April 43.2 19.1 0.9 1.9 NW May 44.7 22.7 6.0 2.5 W June 42.4 23.4 108.7 2.8 SW July 37.6 23.7 265.3 2.4 SW August 35.2 23.2 219.8 2.0 SW September 37.3 22.0 171.9 1.7 W October 38.2 16.6 10.8 1.2 NW November 36.0 12.6 8.9 1.3 E December 32.7 8.6 2.6 1.5 E Average/ Total 44.9 6.4 803.4 1.8

Rainfall: The annual average rainfall in Ahmedabad is 803.4 mm with the maximum rainfall occurs during the month from June to September.

Temperature: The meteorological data for the past 30 year (1951 – 1980) shows that, the maximum temperature occur in the month of May (44.70C), where as the lowest temperature was observed in the month of January (7.30C).



Wind Speed: The average wind speed over the period of 30 years is 1.8m/sec, with a varying range of 1.2 m/sec in the month of October to 2.8 m/sec in June.

Wind rose Diagram & Mixing Height details

The wind rose diagram denotes a class of diagrams designed to display the distribution of wind direction experienced at a given location over a period of time — long for a climatological record of prevailing winds or short to show wind character for a particular event or purpose. Wind rose summarizes a considerable amount of wind frequency information during the monitoring period at the proposed site and represents into a single graphic, which is shown in Figure 4-11 below.

FIGURE 4-11: WIND ROSE FOR METEOROLOGICAL MONITORING DATA

The wind rose diagram reveals that wind was blowing predominantly from the west direction with a frequency of approximately 36% and having speed in the range of 2.6-10.3 m s-1 during the monitoring period. The onsite average wind speed was observed to be 4.93 m s-1. The wind rose diagram reveals that during the monitoring period,



predominant wind direction was observed concurrent with climatologically prevailing wind direction of westerly wind. The following Table 4-10 and Table 4-11 shows the summery of meteorological monitoring data and frequency of stability class during the entire monitoring period respectively.

TABLE 4-10: SUMMARY OF METEOROLOGICAL MONITORING DATA

Season Maximum Temp

Minimum Temp

Average Wind speed Rainfall

Pre-Monsoon 46 0C 27 0C 4.93 ms-1 Nil

TABLE 4-11: FREQUENCY OF STABILITY CLASSES OVER MONITORING PERIOD

Stability Class Frequency (%)

A – Extremely Unstable 0.3 B – Unstable 10.3 C – Slightly Unstable 31.9 D – Neutral 31.6 E – Slightly Stable 22.2 F – Stable 3.7

The data indicate that during the monitoring period, the atmospheric condition was primarily unstable with a frequency of 31.9 percent. Unstable conditions exhibit well vertical mixing thereby resulting in better pollutants dispersion. Mixing Height: Mixing height is the vertical extent through which the contaminant plume can be mixed. With a higher mixing height, larger volume of air available, within which the pollutants can mix, resulting in lower concentrations. With the lower mixing height, the plume of “low height” sources may become trapped in thereby resulting in higher concentrations. Average mixing height is lower during winter months as compared to other seasons and atmospheric dispersion is typically at a minimum (NAAQS 2002). During winter, along side a lower mixing height, atmospheric stability condition is more stable in comparison to other seasons which in turn allows for less general circulation and thus more stagnant air masses and more accumulation of pollutants in any given area (NAAQS 2002) occurs.

The mixing height determination requires upper air measurements. Secondary information (IMD Lucknow) was used to determine the mixing height over the entire block. During the pre-monsoon monitoring season, the mixing height over the block was observed at 50-2000m.



4.5.2 Ambient Air Quality:

The existing quality of the air environment serves as an index for assessing the pollution load and the assimilative capacity of any region. As per the reconnaissance visit in Chanasma region, the main source of air pollution is vehicular movement along the state highways and the village road. This movement would contribute to the air pollution level within this part of the acquired block. Although, the block is located in the rural settings, generation of dust is very less during the traffic movement along the village roads, as most of the village roads are paved in nature. A further air quality monitoring study has been carried out to understand the prevailing air quality within the block and its surrounding areas. The standard for all the pollutants are given in Table 4-12. The detailed monitoring results are given in Table 4-13 to Table 4-18 and the graphical representation of this monitoring data are shown in Figure 4-12 to Figure 4-16. The map showing the monitoring locations are given in Figure 4-17.

TABLE 4-12: NAAQS STANDARD FOR RESIDENTIAL AREAS

SN Parameter

Revised Standards

(18th Nov, 2009)

NAAQS for Residential Area (µg/m3)

1 SPM --- 200 2 RSPM 100 100 3 PM 2.5 60 --- 4 SO2 80 80 5 NOx 80 80 6 CO 2000 2000



TABLE 4-13: AIR QUALITY MONITORING RESULTS OF PM10

PM10

Village Max Mean Min

Ruppur 62 47.125 37 Jitoda 53 41.75 34

FIGURE 4-12: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF PM10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Ruppur Jitoda

Village

Conc

entr

atio

n (m

icro

gram

per

cub

ic m

eter

)

Max

Mean

Min

The ambient air quality monitoring results show that, the PM10 at all the villages ranges from 34 to 62 µgm/m3, hence the air quality in all the villages are good.



TABLE 4-14: AMBIENT AIR MONITORING RESULTS OF SO2

SO2


Ruppur 12.2 9.475 8 Jitoda 11.2 10 8

FIGURE 4-13: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF SO2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Ruppur Jitoda

Village

Conc

entr

atio

n (m

icro

gram

per

cub

ic m

eter

0

Max

Mean

Min

The ambient air quality monitoring results show that, the SO2 at all the villages ranges from 8 to 12.2 µgm/m3, which reveals that the air quality in terms of SO2 concentration at all the villages are good.



TABLE 4-15: AMBIENT AIR MONITORING RESULTS OF NOX

NOx


Ruppur 13 10.4875 10 Jitoda 14.8 11.1375 10

FIGURE 4-14: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF NOX

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Ruppur Jitoda

Village

Conc

entr

atio

n (m

icro

gram

per

cub

ic m

eter

0

Max

Mean

Min

The ambient air quality monitoring results show that, the NOx concentration at all the villages ranges from 10 to 14.8 µgm/m3, which reveals that the air quality in terms of NOx concentration at all the villages are good.



TABLE 4-16: AMBIENT AIR MONITORING RESULTS OF HC

HC


Ruppur 2302 1847.75 1665 Jitoda 2166 1738.125 1524

FIGURE 4-15: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF HC

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Ruppur Jitoda

Village

Conc

entr

atio

n (m

icro

gram

per

cub

ic m

eter

0

Max

Mean

Min

The ambient air monitoring shows that, the total maximum HC concentration at village Ruppur and Jitoda is 2302 µgm/m3 and 2166 µgm/m3 respectively. Out of this total HC content, 80 percent comprises of methane based HC and 20 percent comprises of non-methane based HC. Table 4-17 shows the percentage distribution of methane and non-methane based HC at different villages.



TABLE 4-17: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF METHANE AND NON-METHANE BASED HC AT

VILLAGES

Maximum HC Minimum HC

Village Methane based HC

Non Methane

Based HC

Methane based HC

Non Methane

Based HC

Ruppur 1841.6 460.4 1332 333 Jitoda 1732.8 433.2 1219.2 304.8



TABLE 4-18: AMBIENT AIR MONITORING RESULTS OF CO

CO


Ruppur 952 906.125 869 Jitoda 956 908.375 863

FIGURE 4-16: GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF CO

800

820

840

860

880

900

920

940

960

980

Ruppur Jitoda

Village

Conc

entr

atio

n (m

icro

gram

per

cub

ic m

eter

0

Max

Mean

Min

The ambient air quality monitoring results show that, the CO concentrations at all the villages ranges from 863 to 956 µgm/m3, which reveals that the air quality in terms of CO concentration also show good conditions of ambient air at all the villages.



FIGURE 4-17: MAP SHOWING AIR MONITORING LOCATIONS



4.6 BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT

The district of Patan falls under the desert area as per the bio-geographic zones of India and has a number of regional sensitive ecosystem comprising of both terrestrial and aquatic components. However, the proposed acquired block and its surrounding areas do not have any such significant ecological features.

4.6.1 Terrestrial Ecosystem

Forest Resources

Patan district (Part – A) has 99 sq. km area under the forest cover, i.e. 2.97 percent of its total geographical area (Forest Survey of India-2003). The total forest cover of the district comprises of 10 sq. km of moderately dense forest and 89 sq. km of open forest, where as the very dense forest is absent in the district.

However, there is no Reserve Forest, protected forest, open forest or planted forests are reported within the core (seismic block and area upto 500 m radius) and buffer zone (15 km from site boundary) of the study area or the area of operation.

Forest types

Forest types occurring in this region are mainly Dry deciduous and Dry Deciduous scrub in nature (Champion and Seth Forest classification).

The dry deciduous forests of this eco-region are composed of three stories, with upper canopy reaching from 15 to 25 m (Puri et al. 1989). Relative difference in moisture levels determines the forest composition within this dry area. Owing to the arid climate, the flora and fauna of these forests also possess a wide range of xerophytic vegetation. The most common xerophytes species reported are Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica, Acacia Senegal, Acacia tortilis. Their relative frequency of distribution, dominance and abundance is high. Other most commonly reported species are Aegle marmelos, Ailanthus excelsa, Anacardium occidentale, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Bambusa arundinacea, Butea monosperma, Dalbergia latifolia, Dalbergia Sissoo, Dendrocalmus strictus, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Gmelina arborea, Hivea brisiliensis, Prospis julflora, Santalum album, Syzygium cumini, Tamarandus indica, Tectona grandis, Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellirica etc.

Non-Forest Vegetation

According to the Forest Survey of India, the non forest area includes all area outside the traditional / notified reserve and protected area. The trees available in the non-forest area were classified into 8 categories for the purpose of data processing and analysis, which are farm forest, roadside plantation, village woodlot, block plantation, pond side



plantation, railway side plantation, canal side plantation and others which do not fall in any of the above categories. Tree species in these sites are mostly planted and few are natural. These non forest areas are also suitable for some wild fauna. The proposed seismic block area exhibits presence of the following type of non-forest vegetation:

Farm Forest:

Trees along the farm bunds and small patches of the homestead land at Ruppur, Jitoda village are noticed. Some dominant species recorded along the farm bunds are Neem (Azadirachta indica), Mahua (Madhua indica), Sissoo (Dalbergia Sissoo), Kikar (Acacia catechu), Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica, Bakain (Melia azedarach), Bair (Syzygium cuminil) etc. Extensive growth of weeds like Caster (Ricinus communis), Congress grass, Calotropis procera, Pilli grass, Argemone mexicana etc. are recorded in wasteland and non cultivated land. These trees provide nesting and roosting habitats for avifauna and hideout for small mammals. The photograph of the farm forest is given below.

Photo 4-1: Farm Forest Vegetation

Photo Showing Farm Forest Extensive growth of Caster & weeds

Village Woodlot:

Village woodlots are naturally or planted trees on community or private land. Planted trees recorded in village woodlot are Eucalyptus sp Mango (Mangifera indica), Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), Teak (Tectona grandis), Mahua (Madhua indica), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Sissoo (Dalbergia Sissoo), Bakain (Melia azaderach), Imli (Tamarinda indica), Bamboo sp etc. These trees provide fruits, timbers and source of income to the locals.



Road side plantation:

Trees are noticed along the village road and along the state highway connecting to the site. Thick lustrous leaves with dense canopy leaning over the road were commonly noticed. These trees provide foraging, nesting and movement corridor for birds and small mammals. Higher frequency of Mahua (Madhua indica), Mango (Mangifera indica), Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Siris (Albizzia lebback), Bakain (Melia azaderach) etc. are recorded. The district road connecting villages witness Babul (Acacia catechu), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Chilbil (Holoptelea integrifolia), Arjun (Terminalia Arjuna), Imli (Tamarinda indica) etc. The undergrowth comprises of weed like Congress grass, Munja, Aristida sp., Cenchrus cilitaris etc.

Photo 4-2: Road side plantation

Plantation along village road side

Pond side Plantation:

Majority of the plants recorded along the pond side are Bamboo sp., Mahua (Madhua indica), Sissoo (Dalbergia Sissoo), Jamun (Syzygium cumini), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Peepal (Ficus religiosa), Bair (Syzygium cumini) etc. These are mainly planted by local villagers. The wild growth of Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica, Acacia Senegal, Acacia tortilis, Dwarf dates, Caster (Ricinus communis) etc. are witness with extensive growth covering the edge of ponds. These plants have ecological significance, as it provide hide out place for birds when they come to these ponds for drinking water. The litter from these types of trees acts as food for detritus feeders and fishes of the pond. These trees also reduced the rate of evaporation from surface of pond.



Photo 4-3: Photographs showing pond side plantation

Pond side Plantation at Jasalpur Village

River and Canal side Plantation:

No riparian habitat was noticed within this Part A of the acquired block, as this area is devoid of any river or canal.

Regional floral profile:

Flora

A detailed survey of the buffer zone area of about 15 km radius from the project boundary witnesses moderate growth of trees in the outskirt of city, around villages, along the roads side and in open fields. In open field higher frequency of mango (Mangifera indica), neem (Azadirachta indica), Mahua (Madhua indica), Acacia sp, sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), Acacia sp. followed by lesser frequency of Jamun (Eugenia jambolana), Bakain (Melia azedarach), bail (Aegle marmelos), banyan (ficus bengalensis), peepal (Ficus religiosa), Kadamb (Anthocephalus cadamba), Arjun (Terminalia arjuna) etc. are noticed. Dense growth of weed like congress grasses (Parthenium sp.), Argemone mexicana, Cenchrus cilitaris, Heteropogon contortus etc. was noticed in field, bunds and agricultural waste land. These weeds are affecting agricultural productivity of the region due to fast growth, short life cycle and enormous production of seeds.

Agricultural Diversity:

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people in the district. Major crop in the district are wheat, bajra, Jowar, Jira, Cotton, Oilseeds and Mirch (red chillies). Other commercial crops of the district are oil seeds, Jira (cumin), Isabgul (Psyllium spp.) etc., which provide good source of income to the farmers. Vegetable farming is practiced by small land



holders in areas adjacent to village. Tobacco farming practice was also noticed, but in small proportion in compared to other crops.

Photo 4-4: Agricultural Practice

Tobacco farming (Khaina) Chilly farming

Fauna:

Faunal survey was carried out at different time of the day (diurnal and nocturnal) to have idea about the faunal distribution in the project site and in close vicinity to the site. Different techniques are adopted for specific faunal group. These are mainly done to have detailed understanding of existing faunal habitat in the study area. Survey is mainly carried out at different times of the day, because most animal responses are dependent on circadian cycle. Some animals are active at day time, other at don and dusk, while some are nocturnal in behavioral responses.

Mammals

Samplings of mammals are based on size and Circadian rhythm. The trap arrays was installed along the site to trap small mammals like field mouse, shrew, rabbits, porcupine etc. which went unnoticed or are nocturnal in behavior. This trap array will provide details about small mammalian habitat in the proposed project area and also help in predicting the impact on mammalian habitat. Large mammals are recorded during active search from incidental sighting as well as spoor. The frequent presence of Nilgai has been observed during the time of survey. As per the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Nilgai comes under the Schedule III of the list, prepared for endangered species. However, the animals come under the Schedule III of the list require less protection and with special protection, seismic programme activities can be carried out in the area. List of mammals identified by trap arrays, incidental sighting as well as spoors and based on secondary information are given in Table 4-19.



Photo 4-5: Mammals found on the site

Domesticated mammals at site Nilgai

TABLE 4-19: LIST OF MAMMALS RECORDED DURING SURVEY

Scientific Name

English name Location Habitat Wildlife Protection Act

IUCN Status

Bos Taurus Cow Site Domesticated Schedule-IV L C Canis sp. Dog Site Domesticated Schedule-IV L C Capra hircus Goat Site Domesticated Schedule-IV L C Mus booduga Field Mouse Site Open field Schedule-IV L C Boselaphus tragocamelus

Neilgai Buffer Zone No Habitat Schedule-III L C

Vulpes vulpes Red Fox Buffer Zone No Habitat Schedule-II L C [L C – Least Concern, VUL- Vulnerable]

Avifauna:

Sampling of avifauna was carried out between the hours 6:30 to 8: 00 A.M. This survey was not restricted to any specific area of the project site and was instead based on a “Walk/Drive Through” survey. A point count sampling method was adopted to list the bird species seen or heard. Species not immediately identified, based on actual sightings and bird calls, were noted and field guide were used to verify their identification. The presence of spread out vegetation in open field comprising of bushes and trees provide abundant nesting, brooding and feeding habitat. Survey was conducted at don and dusk to record the type and frequencies of birds visiting the trees within the proposed site. Maximum birds are recorded during the day time, occasionally during don and rarely during evening. About 20 species of birds were identified in the study area. List of



avifauna recorded based on point count sampling method, vocal call identification and walk/drive through method is given in Table 4-20.

TABLE 4-20: LISTS OF COMMON AVIFAUNA RECORDED DURING SURVEY

Sl. No. Scientific Name Common Name Local Status

Site Study Area

Wildlife Schedule

1 Acridotheres tristis

Common Myna A + + IV

2 Athene brama Spotted Owlet S + IV 3 Columba livia Blue Rock Pigeon C + IV 4 Copsychus

saularis Magpie Robin S + IV

5 Corvus splendens House Crow A + + V 6 Cuculus canorus Cuckoo C + IV 7 Dicrurous

adsimilis Drongo A + + IV

8 Eudynamys scolopacea

Koel C + IV

9 Merops orientalis Green Bee Eater C + + IV 10 Milvus migrans Pariah Kite C + IV 11 Passer domesticus House Sparrow A + IV 12 Psittacula

krameri Roseringed Parakeet

C + + IV

13 Pycnonotus cafer Red vented Bulbul

A + IV

14 Streptopelia chinensis

Spotted Dove A + IV

15 Sturnus contra Pied Myna C + + IV 16 Upupa epops Hoopoe S + IV 17 Corcias

benghalensis Indian roller S + IV

18 Bubulcus ibis Cattle Egret S + IV 19 Ardeola grayii Pond Heron S + IV 20 Merops orientalis Green Bee-eater S + IV

[A= Abundant, C = Common, S = Sporadic]

[+= Recorded ]

Amphibians and reptiles:

For amphibians monitoring, secondary data analysis and technique like transects, spot light and calls of the frogs were noted and identified. Amphibians are recorded in traps,



which were installed near water bodies or water logged area. No endangered or scheduled I and II status amphibians, declared endangered by Red Data -2009 (IUCN) and IWLP 1972 were recorded within the proposed block or in buffer zone. Table 4-21 gives list of amphibians recorded with their supportive habitat.

TABLE 4-21: LIST OF RECORDED SPECIES AND SUPPORTIVE HABITAT WITHIN PROPOSED

PROJECT AREA & BUFFER ZONE

S.No Common Name Scientific Name Supportive Habitat 1 Bull Frog Haplobatrachus tigerinus Pond, River, Marshy area 2 Common Indian Toad Bufo melanostictus Pond 3 Indian Skipper frog Euphlyctis cyanophylctis Pond/marshy area 4 Asian cricket frog Limnonectus limnocharis Pond /moist area/Canal

To study the presence of reptiles along the proposed project, two types of trap like pitfall and funnel trap were installed randomly at regular interval. The traps examined at don and dusk regularly for two days. Garden lizards and gecko was trapped in two traps where extensive growth of bushes was noticed. Table 4-22 gives list of reptiles recorded from the field survey and secondary information.

TABLE 4-22: LIST OF REPTILIAN SPECIES RECORDED ALONG PROPOSED PROJECT

S.No Common Name Scientific Name Source 1 Garden lizard Calotes versicolor Pitfall trap 2 House gecko Hemidactylus flavioirdis Funnel trap 3 Indian Skink Mabuya macularius Direct sited 4 Common Indian Krait Bungarus caeruleus Secondary source 5 Common Rat Snake Ptyas mucosus Secondary source 6 Indian Cobra Naja naja Secondary Source

4.6.2 Aquatic Ecosystem

Patan district comprises of fresh water habitat supported by lentic (man made ponds) water bodies. However, no proper riparian habitat was noticed. Few trees like Sissoo, Jamun, Kikar, Bamboo etc were reported in scattered fashion. Due to seasonal patterns of water availability, no established habitat for mammals, fishes, amphibians and reptiles were noticed on river beds and along the banks.

Lentic and seasonal water bodies like man made ponds were noticed near and within the villages. These ponds are rain feed and many of these dried up in summer season. Very few of them are perennial in nature. During detail survey of these ponds, aquatic species of plant like Marsilea villosa, Potamogeton sp, Azolla sp was noticed in water along the edge. Avifauna like white throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrensis), cattle egret (Bubulcus



ibis), pond heron (Ardeola grayii) and pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) was noticed sitting on branch of tree near pond away from human disturbance.

Photo 4-6: Photograph showing Lentic water body (Pond)

4.7 SOCIOECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

The socio-economic study focuses on demographic structure, economic activity, education and literacy profile of a particular region. On the basis of the data compiled in this section, the EIA will later attempt to predict and evaluate the future impacts of the project on the people of the surrounding area, their physical and psychological health and well-being, economic facilities, heritage and culture, lifestyle and other value systems.

The information provided in the following sections has been primarily derived from secondary sources (Census of India, 2001, Website) and primary reconnaissance survey to the site.

General Socio-economic Profile

IOCL has been granted with an exploration block in Cambay Basin, namely CB-ONN-2005/2 by Government of India under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for exploration of hydrocarbon. Block located partly in Mahesana and partly in Patan district of Gujarat. The demographic profile of the state and the district of Patan are being discussed here.

Gujarat state is located in the western cost of India. It is surrounded by two states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh towards the northeast and east respectively; Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu and Nagar Haveli towards the south. The

Pond at Ruppur village



population of state in 2001 was 5.06 Crores which is five percent of country’s population and the state covers six percent area of India. The decadal growth rate (1991-2001) of the state has been 22.66%, while the sex ratio of the state is 930 females per 1000 males. The Schedule caste and Schedule tribe population are 7.1% and 14.8% respectively. Administratively state is divided into 26 districts, 231 talukas, 18,618 villages and 242 towns.

Patan district is located in North Gujarat and was constituted from Mehsana and Banaskantha district. It is surrounded in the north and northwest by Banas Kantha district and to west and southwest by the Little Ran of Kachchh; to the south by Surendranagar district and to the east by Mehsana District. As per 2001 census, the population of the district is 11, 82,709 with decadal growth rate (1991-2001) of 14.16%. The sex ratio of the district is 932 females against 1000 males. The economy is agriculture based with some rural industries like food and beverages, textiles etc.

Study Area

The block consists of two parts and is demarcated as Part A and Part B. The list of villages and towns which are falling in and around the Part A of the block is given in Table 4-23.

TABLE 4-23: LIST OF VILLAGES IN PART A

S.No Village Name Taluka District

1. Sevala Chansama Patan 2. Sendha Chansama Patan 3. Ruppur Chansama Patan 4. Sardarpur Chansama Patan 5. Jakhana Chansama Patan 6. Jitoda Chansama Patan 7. Dhanodarda Chansama Patan 8. Jasalpur Chansama Patan 9. Dharmoda Chansama Patan 10. Sendhal Chansama Patan

Population:

The population of the villages with number of males, females, households, SC, ST population is given in Table 4-24.



TABLE 4-24: POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD, MALES, FEMALES, SC, ST

S.No Village Name

Number of Households

Population Males Females SC ST

1. Sevala 365 1940 1004 936 208 1 2. Sendha 311 1635 847 788 0 0 3. Ruppur 401 1937 968 969 116 0 4. Sardarpur 149 754 371 383 54 0 5. Jakhana 351 1657 860 797 223 0 6. Jitoda 367 1770 941 829 254 0 7. Dhanodarda 417 2102 1080 1022 146 0 8. Jasalpur 345 1765 928 837 166 0 9. Dharmoda 350 1758 911 847 98 0 10. Sendhal 410 1921 987 934 175 0

Source: Census of India 2001

All the villages have population of less than 2000.

Education and Literacy:

The infrastructural facilities for education are available in almost all the villages with technical education center in some of the villages. The literacy rate for Chanasma taluka is 73.59 %.

Economic activity and livelihood pattern:

An understanding of the economic activity and livelihood pattern is important to predict the impact of the project activities on the economy of the regions. The workforce participation in the Chanasma taluka is 50.7% with significant percentage of workforces engaged in agriculture. Out of the total population, 35.80% is cultivators and 26.84 % are agricultural labours, where as 35.74 % of the total population is engaged in other works, like in business and government services.

Primary Survey and Consultation

The primary survey exercise is being carried out to collect information on the economic activities, agricultural practices, social infrastructure and community view and aspirations from the project/activity. Primary survey was carried out in Jasalpur, Jitora and Ruppur village. On the basis of the discussions with villagers, community and observations done at the site, certain facts can be summarized, which are as follows:

Economic Activity: Agriculture is the major activity with sowing of cotton, jeera, bajra etc. Live stock rearing is a common practice of the entire area with supply of products to



Dudhsagar, one of the biggest dairy in the district of Mahesana. It plays an important role in the socio-economic life of the people. The nearest market for Part A is Chanasma.

Infrastructure: The infrastructure facility is very good within this Part a of the entire block with road connectivity, paved internal roads, water supply, power supply through out the day etc. Almost all the village roads are metalled and transportation to the towns and cities is through means of private vehicles as well as government bus service. The power is available in all the villages for the whole day of 24 hrs. The ground water level is at an approximate depth of 1000 feet with high fluoride content; hence people are usually depending on Narmada canal from which the water is available for potable use after proper filtration.

Photo 4-7: Existing infrastructure facilities within the villages

Local bus service

Social Infrastructure: The social infrastructure facilities are also very good in the study area with the presence of primary school, high school, colleges and proper health care facilities in the villages. Almost all the villages have primary school, run by government or by trustee or by government aid. The high school is located in Chanasma. For further studies, people used to go to Chanasma as one ITI and colleges are there in the Kasbe Chanasma.

The government health facilities are available in Chanasma taluka, while specialist doctors are available in the district hospitals. Few of the villages envisage the presence of private hospital facility.



Photo 4-8: Photographs showing educational infrastructure

Computer education room in the school School at Jitoda village



5.0 Environmental Impacts

This section of the EIA systematically identifies, characterizes and evaluates the potential impacts arising out of the project through a semi-quantitative system so that these can be effectively addressed in the Environment Management Plans which would be a part of the existing EHS System of IOCL.

An environmental impact identification matrix has been developed to formally give an overview of possible interactions between project activities and environmental components which may get affected. The matrix structure takes into account physical, biological and socioeconomic components of the environment on one axis (X axis) and the activities / aspects involve in the proposed exploratory drilling on the other side (Y axis). The matrix with the identified environmental and social interactions and resultant impacts is presented in Table 5-11.

BOX 5.1: ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND IMPACTS

The International Organisation for Standardization’s (ISO) standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS), ISO 14001 defines environmental aspect as:

“An element of an organization’s activities, products or services that can interact with the environment.”

and environmental impact as : “Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization’s activities, products or services.”

The identification of the activities / aspects and the environmental and socioeconomic receptors has been initiated at the early scoping stage, following which an initial matrix was drawn up. As the EIA progressed, the matrix was further refined as knowledge of new impacts was gathered or better understanding of the project description was achieved. The flexibility was required as less obvious impacts which are indirect in nature or less probable was identified at a later stage of the study. In accordance with the prevailing practice at IOCL, the type of impacts that has been addressed in this EIA is defined in the Box 5-2 below.



BOX 5.2: TYPES OF IMPACTS CONSIDERED FOR IMPACT ASSESSMENT Negative/Adverse: an impact that is considered to represent an adverse change from the baseline, or introduce a new undesirable factor.

Positive/Beneficial: an impact that is considered to represent an improvement to the baseline or introduces a new desirable factor.

Direct (or primary): impacts that result from a direct interaction between a planned project activity and the receiving environment

Secondary: impacts that follow on from the primary interactions between the Project and its environment as a result of subsequent interactions within the environment (e.g. loss of part of a habitat affects the viability of a species population over a wider area).

Indirect: impacts that result from other activities that are encouraged to happen as a consequence of the Project (e.g. effect on aquatic ecology due to increase in run-off from project site).

Cumulative: impacts that may act together with other impacts to affect the same environmental resource or receptor.

Short-term: impacts that are predicted to last only for a limited period (e.g. during site preparation) but will cease on completion of the activity, or as a result of mitigation/reinstatement measures and natural recovery (e.g. temporary employment of unskilled workers during construction).

Long-term: impacts that will continue over an extended period, (e.g. loss of agricultural activity on site) but cease when the Project decommissioning is completed.

Permanent: impacts that occur during the development of the Project and cause a permanent change in the affected receptor or resource (e.g. the destruction of a cultural artifact) that may endure substantially beyond the project lifetime.

Accidental: impacts that result from accidental events within the Project (e.g. Spillage of oil / chemicals) or some external environment affecting the Project (e.g. flooding).

5.1 IMPACT EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

Once, all the project and environmental activities/aspects were comprehensively identified the level of impact that may result from each of the activity-receptor interactions has been assessed based on some subjective criteria. In order to achieve this, two key elements have been taken into consideration based on standard environmental risk assessment methodologies:

• Consequence : the resultant effect (positive or negative) of an activity and its interaction with the physical, biological and/or socio-economic environments; and

• Likelihood: the likelihood that an impact may occur due to the project activity/aspect;



The consequences on various environmental receptors have been ranked into 5 levels ranging from positive, neutral to catastrophic and are shown in Table 5-1 below. Subsequently, to assign a level of consequence to each environmental impact, criteria were defined for environmental (including socioeconomic) consequences. Legal issues have been taken into account during the criteria settings and have been given high weightage (as an overriding criterion) in many instances to make an impact significant, thereby aiding IOCL to comply with all relevant legislation. Additionally, the results of quantitative impact prediction exercise, wherever undertaken, have also been fed into the process. The consequence ranking and criteria’s are presented in Table 5.1 below:

TABLE 5-1: CONSEQUENCE CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA

Consequence Category Ranking

Criteria Definition

Catastrophic 5 • National scale impact resulting in long term change and / or significant damage to the natural environment or the society.

• Increase in threat category for rare and endangered species of fauna and flora identified in national and global listings (IUCN).

• Emergency situation with harmful consequences to human health (e.g. fatalities) or disastrous consequences on the livelihoods of people of adjacent villages.

• Natural restoration time of more than 10 years. • Breach of regulations and/ or company policy for

more than 100 % of the time. • Negative widespread national and international

media coverage. Major 4 • Regional scale impact resulting in medium term

and / or damage to the natural environment. • Reduction in regional habitat and species diversity

and/or direct loss of habitat for endemic, rare and endangered species of fauna and/or flora in the region.

• Major impact on human health (e.g. serious injury), on the livelihoods of individuals from surrounding villages and continuous discomfort to sensitive receptors on account of noise/air pollution.

• Natural restoration time between 5 - 10 years. • Breach of regulations and/ or company policy for




Criteria Definition

more than 50 % of the time. • Sustained adverse national media attention.

Moderate 3 • Local scale impact resulting in short term change and / or damage to the natural environment.

• Direct loss of habitat crucial for species in the project area, introduction of invasive species of flora or exotic fauna in the area or causing of local environmental stress (reproductive rates, etc.).

• Moderate impact on human health and well-being (e.g. noise, light, odour, dust, injuries to individuals), restricted access to income source and to community facilities and utilities.

• Natural restoration time between 2- 5 years. • Breach of environmental legislation and or

company policy at some times. • Complaints from the public, authorities and

possible local media attention. Minor 2 • Limited local scale impact causing partial loss of

some species which can easily regenerate. • Limited impact on human health and well-being

(e.g. occasional dust, odours, traffic noise). • Accidental one-off noncompliance to legal

framework and/or company policy which is quickly rectified.

• Natural restoration once project is decommissioned. Negligible 1 • Impact largely not discernable on a local scale

being absorbed by the natural environment; areas adjacent to disturbed areas absorb exodus of species able to disperse.

• Natural restoration time less than project scheduled completion date.

• Possible nuisance to human health and well being (e.g. occasional unpleasant odours) and very limited disruption to community (road inaccessible for half a day).

• No noncompliance with legal framework or company policy, but not all international best practices followed.




Criteria Definition

• Public perception/concern. Neutral 0 • Impact absorbed by local natural environment with

no discernable effects. • No restoration or intervention required. • No impact on human health, livelihoods or

community facilities. • No exceedances of international, national, industry

and/or operator standard any parameter. • No public concern.

Positive + • Activity has net positive and beneficial effect resulting in environmental improvement on ecosystem health.

• Improvement to human health, community infrastructure/utilities or medium term benefits to individual livelihoods (e.g. employment impacts).

• Positive feedback from stakeholders.

In the case that an environmental receptor might be impacted by more than one project activity, the higher impact significance ranking has been taken as the significance ranking for the subject receptor.

It should be noted here that, it is often difficult to compare environmental impacts consistently across different natural and socio-economic environments. In evaluating the environmental and socio-economic aspects, emphasis has been placed on specific cause and effect relationships. Sometimes, scientific evidence as well as predictions based on observation of previous similar activities has also been used in the impact assessment process. If in case, it has not been possible to fully quantify the effect that an activity may have on the environment or a component of the environment, or where there is a lack of scientific knowledge, qualitative judgment has been used.

To assign likelihood to each activity, five criteria were ranked and defined. The criteria for likelihood are shown in Table 5.2.



TABLE 5-2: LIKELIHOOD CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA

Likelihood Category Ranking

Criteria Definition

Certain 5 • The impact is likely to occur during the entire project life cycle at all times.

Very Likely 4 • The impact is likely to occur in some phases of entire project life cycle at all times.

Likely 3 • The impact is likely to occur in some phases of project life cycle at some times under normal operating conditions.

Unlikely 2 • The impact is unlikely to occur, but may occur at some time under normal operating conditions.

Very Unlikely 1 • The impact is very unlikely at all to occur during project life cycle but may occur in exceptional circumstances.

The significance of the impact has been expressed as the product of the consequence and likelihood of occurrence of the impact, expressed as follows:

Significance = Consequence x Likelihood

Figure 5.1 below illustrates all possible product results for the five consequence and likelihood categories. Table 5-3 below assigns significance criteria, based on the scale of 1-5 and will be used for delineation of preventive actions, if any, and management plans for mitigation of the impacts.

TABLE 5-3: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA

Ranking ( Consequence X Likelihood) Impact Significance

> 16 Critical 9-16 High 6-8 Medium 2-5 Low <2 Negligible ++ Positive



FIGURE 5-1: RISK MATRIX AND IMPACT SIGNIFICANCE

5 5 10 15 20 25

4 4 8 12 16 20

3 3 6 9 12 15

2 2 4 6 8 10

1 1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

Consequence

5.2 IMPACT ASSESSMENT & MITIGATION MEASURES

This section discusses the possible impacts of the project activities on the existing environmental receptors, particularly on the environmental sensitivities of the area which get affected by the project. It discusses probable impacts during various phases of the project lifecycle to the environmental receptors. Identification of impacts would help in delineating appropriate mitigation measures to reduce the adverse impact. The rankings for consequence and likelihood based on criteria set earlier and the resulting environmental significance with necessary justification has been recorded below for each set of impacts and the same has been represented in the consequence, likelihood and environmental impact significance matrix and documented in Table 5-9, Table 5-10 and Table 5-11 respectively.

Lik

elih

ood



5.2.1 Potential Impact on Land and Land Use

During construction of drill site: The existing land and land use pattern of this Part A of the block will get affected from the construction of drilling site and associated activities, like elevation of land, installation of rig & machineries, temporary storage of domestic waste and other kind of waste material etc. This impacts may happen in terms of temporary clearing of ground vegetation of around 120m x 100m area (as this much area is required for well drilling), changes in the aesthetic looks of the area, changes in soil characteristics from temporary dumping of earth and fill material required for site elevation etc.

During drilling operation: The entire drilling operation, being a temporary activity, will not require any kind of land acquisition (as it involves temporary leasing of land) and neither involves clearing of any trees, except few ground vegetation. The drilling activity would require a land of around 120m x 100m as a whole, which involves clearing of undergrowth for movement of truck load with drilling rig & associated machineries and crews. During the entire drilling operation, drill cuttings and domestic waste and sewage from labour camp etc may cause soil contamination.

The road area within the village land may get affected from heavy vehicular movement, as the regular movement of approximately 20-25 truck loads will be there during drilling operation phase. This truck movement is likely to cause traffic congestion in the village level road as well as in the State Highways. However, on the basis of the study carried out for the existing traffic scenario of the area, it can be inferred that, the existing traffic at all the roads is slightly higher than the carrying capacity of the State Highway. Hence, the increased traffic load of around 20-25 trucks may likely to increase the traffic on the existing roads. However, the drilling being a temporary activity would not cause any permanent traffic load in the village road.

Mitigation Measures:

• Necessary efforts will be made during selection of drill site to minimize disruption of current land use to the extent possible and this should be a criteria as part of initial project planning;

• Temporary camp site will be provided with complete amenities and sanitation facilities for the labourers to be deployed in the site during construction of the site as well as during drilling phase;

• Necessary restoration efforts will be made during decommissioning and site closure to restore the site back to its original condition to the extent possible;

• On completion of works (in phases), all temporary structures, surplus materials and wastes will be completely removed;



• Optimization of land requirement through proper site lay out design will be a basic criteria at the design phase;

• In order to avoid any traffic congestion in the area, separate provision for truck parking will be kept within the drilling site;

• Temporary new approach roads can be constructed and existing roads can be improved, if required, for smooth and hassle free movement of personnel as well as materials and machineries;

• Proper restoration of site will be carried out to bring the physical terrain, soils and vegetation, as closely possible, to their original condition;

5.2.2 Potential Impact on Soil Quality

Potential impacts on the soil resources will start during site preparation and setting up of rig and associated machinery and continue till the site is completely rehabilitated. The most significant impact will be potential changes in the soils structure and degradation of the soil quality as a result of erosion and compaction. Following is a brief description of the soil quality impacts:

Alteration of Topsoil Environment & Fertility

Site preparation will cause stripping and removal of the topsoil from the project site and the approach road, which contains most of the nutrients and organisms that give soil a living character and productivity. This will in turn result in minor changes of soil hydrology and the topsoil structure. However, the project design will take into account the preservation of the top soil and its subsequent use for topping up of the rehabilitated land. In spite of this however, the fertility of the soil stands to be affected in the site area.

In addition, fill material and rubble from other areas will be brought into increase elevation of the site by 2.0 m, which may result damage to soil environment off-site, if not sourced from proper areas. If such material is spilled or displaced during transportation, it can affect the soil environment of the neighborhood.

Runoff and soil erosion

During the site preparation loose and uncompacted soil has a high potential for erosion. Additionally, inadequate on site drainage provisions can also lead to increased storm water run-off from paved areas within the site resulting in soil erosion of the unpaved areas. Removal of ground vegetation in the site surrounding areas would also result in increased erosion potential of those areas. Excess soil erosion may indirectly affect aquatic ecosystem by increasing level of suspended solid in receiving water bodies thereby reducing infiltration of sunlight and dissolved oxygen availability to the water.



Compaction of Soil

The setting up of the rig and associated machinery will require a strong base for being set up properly and piling equipment will be used for compaction of the soil, so that it can take the load of the equipments. Compaction of the soil will also be occurred from the heavy truck movement in the approach road connecting State Highways to the site. The compaction of subsoil may result in a change in soil texture thereby changing the percolation rates, drainage patterns and water-logging in nearby areas.

Soil Sedimentation

Continuous removal of top soil may cause loosening of soil of the area. As loose soil applied in the site area may result in excessive erosion of the soil, hence it causes loss of sediment with runoff.

Soil Contamination

Contamination of soil can result from the project activities if certain operations like storage of chemicals and fuels, cement and mud preparation, spent oil and lubricants are not managed efficiently. Storage of chemicals and fuels, spent lubricants on unpaved surfaces also have a potential for soil contamination. If in case, chemicals, drilling mud, oil and lubricants are spilled accidentally on open soil, either during transportation or during handling, it will cause soil contamination. Improper storage of drilling waste and return/unused drilling mud at the on-site waste disposal facility can also result in contamination of the soil. Domestic solid waste generated from the site unless properly disposed can cause contamination of soil.

Process waste e.g. drill cuttings and return mud generated during drilling operations will be stored and disposed on-site in compliance with the regulatory requirements for on-site disposal. It has been estimated that, during the entire drilling process, approximately 800MT of drill cuttings are likely to be generated from each well. This will may cause soil contamination , if not disposed or reused properly.

It has been estimated that, the solid waste, which would be generated from construction labourers, will be around 14kg/day1, which may have an implications on the soil quality unless it’s disposed off properly. However, the whole drilling process being a temporary activity would not cause any long term impact on the environment.

In addition to that, domestic waste from temporary labour camp has also been estimated, which will be around 16kg/day. Debris generated during decommissioning activities

1 Assuming waste generation factor of 0.4kg/capita/day for construction labourers



along with domestic waste would be stored temporarily within the site before final offsite disposal.


• Store, preserve and protect topsoil separately to use it during restoration period; • Carry out adequate restoration of soil in the project site, to the extent possible; • Restrict movement of vehicles only to designated areas within the site to the extent

possible • Dispose process waste and domestic waste as per regulation • Install properly designed garland drains along the site to channelize the storm water

properly. • Management of spilling of contaminants on the soil • The drilling mud cuttings and formation cuttings will be separated in the solid

control system and conveyed to a specially designed pit (lined with HDPE) for temporary storage;

• The cuttings will be treated and disposed in accordance with CPCB regulations specified for onshore oil & gas industry;

• Proper arrangement of septic tanks and soak pits can be provided with the labour camp;

• Alternatively, labour can be locally sourced to the extent possible for avoiding the provision of labour camp;

• Provisions for mobile toilets can be kept for labourers, which can be finally transported to the designated disposal site;

• The domestic waste can also be separated based on their types & will be sold through the contractors to approved municipal sites.

5.2.3 Potential Impact on Surface Water

The proposed drilling operation would include construction site preparation, drilling of wells to the depth of 3400m and campsite activities, which involves use of surface water for domestic purpose and for mud preparation and would cause generation of waste water. Following are the potential impacts, may cause from proposed project:



Water Requirement & utilization

It has been estimated that, during the site preparation, approximately 1.5 KLD2 of water will be required for labourers, where as during drilling operation, the water requirement would be around 2 KLD3 for labourers and supervisory staffs.

In addition to this, the water will be required for preparation of drilling mud, which will be approximately 35-40 KLD. The exact quantity of water, required for drilling activities shall be estimated in due course of time.

The water availability in this area is either from bore well or from the ponds or well (depending upon the availability of water in them).or from local Narmada Canal (after taking due permission from the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited).

During drilling, water will be mainly sourced from nearby surface water bodies (from Narmada Canal) through pumps and canvas hoses and sometimes from ground water through the existing bore well within the region.

Water pollution from waste water generation:

The waste water will be generated from domestic activities and from processing activities. An estimation of around 1-1.5 KLD of domestic waste water would be generated from the construction and drilling phase. If the domestic waste water discharges into the nearby surface water body, it may have some negative impact on surface water quality as it would increase the TSS.

The drill sites will primarily generate effluent because of discharges of sanitary (black water) waste water (grey water). The waste water from the process operation comprises of drain out from rig wash, cement preparation and other sources which will be generated intermittently and will be treated subsequently before being drained out. However, given the fact that the discharged water will be treated to comply with waste water discharge standards, the pollution impacts are not likely to be very high.

There is also a potential for chemical contaminants (heavy metals, hydrocarbons, other toxic chemicals) to be discharged along with wastewater creating harmful long term impacts, especially the waste stream from the process, until it is properly treated based on chemical analysis of pollutants.

2 Assuming 35 labourers and 45 LPCD of water requirement 3 Assuming 40 labourers and 45 LPCD of water requirement



Water Pollution from Storm water Drainage

The storm water generally contains high concentration of suspended matter eroded from the soil by the runoff. The storm-water can also get contaminated if the runoff picks up chemicals, oil and lubricants etc. that have been spilled over the ground or even if material is stored in open areas (uncovered) in any particular area like the fuel storage or the chemical storage areas. This may result in potential impact to the receiving water body.

In event of heavy rainfall, chances of chemical contaminants (heavy metals, hydrocarbons, other toxic chemicals) along with wastewater from the site creating harmful long term impacts cannot be ruled out, if not managed properly.

Mitigation Measures

Following mitigation measures will be implemented for water pollution control:

• Efforts will be made to reduce water requirement and recycling will be practiced wherever possible;

• Proper treatment of discharged wastewater will be made by installing wastewater/effluent treatment plant to ensure that they comply with criteria set by the regulatory body;

• The domestic waste water will be discharged into the septic tanks followed by soak pits;

• The storm water system will be efficiently designed and maintained; • At the initial stage, drilling is likely to be avoided during monsoon season; • All process waste to be disposed on-site should conform to the stipulated standards

and comply with the regulatory requirements for such disposal; • All chemical and fuel storage areas will have proper bunds so that contaminated

run-off cannot meet the storm-water drainage system;

5.2.4 Potential Impact of Aquifer & Ground Water Quality

Groundwater is an environmental factor that can have an impact on the proposed project as well as get affected by it. Although the ground water in this region is available at a depth of 1000 ft/305 m, excavations need to be dewatered so that work can continue. Potential impacts on groundwater resources that could arise from the proposed drilling operations include the following:

Reduced Infiltration and Localized Drawdown

The compaction of the working areas for setting up heavy machineries and equipments like the rig may lead to increased runoff and reduced infiltration, thereby affecting



subsurface groundwater recharge at local scale, thereby further reducing the water depth below ground. This will affect villagers of some villages, who are still dependent on ground water for various needs. However, the drilling operation being a temporary activity will not become a cause of permanent loss to ground water recharging. Additionally, with the emergence of Sardar Sarovar project, Narmada Canal has become a good source of water supply to almost all the villages within the exploratory block, hence, the effect on the groundwater regime will not affect water availability of the area.

Contamination of Subsurface Groundwater

Possibility of subsurface groundwater contamination from site drainage or accidental spillage of fuel, lubricants and chemicals from storage areas, vehicles and machineries is always there, if they are not properly designed or maintained. Contamination of subsurface groundwater can also occur in case of frequent accidental discharge on soil. The possibility of contamination of subsurface and lower and possibly unconfined aquifers also exist, if in case, the casing and cementing of the well is not carried out properly, which may lead to infiltration or seeping of drilling chemicals or mud into porous aquifer region. The ground water contamination is also possible from unorganized disposal of drilling waste and mud in a disposal facility, which will ultimately spread horizontally or laterally and may seep gradually into the ground water at a later stage.

Mitigation Measures

The following mitigation measures will be implemented:

• IOCL will carry out proper designing of on-site storage disposal for process wastes in accordance with CPCB guidelines and with proper liner systems;

• IOCL will use proper engineering techniques during the drilling, cementing and casing of the exploratory wells;

• IOCL has to ensure proper spill control and management at site

5.2.5 Potential Impact on Noise Quality

The proposed drilling operations and related activities will lead to considerable emission of noise that may have significant impact on the surrounding communities in terms of increase in noise levels and associated disturbances. The potential impacts on noise level may arise out of the following:

Noise from the Drilling Rig

The drilling rig and associated machinery, including the high power DG set is likely to emit noise in the range of 60 to 85 db (A) and can be experienced at a distance of 15m from the drill sites. Moreover, as drilling is a continuous activity, such noise will be



emitted during both daytime and nighttime leading to a significant impact on local communities.

The high noise levels of the above range within the site also have the potential to affect the workers on site. Continuous exposure to high noise level in workplace environment may cause Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) and other discomforts like headaches and increase in stress levels in workers.

During the site construction period and drilling operation phase, the noise will be generated from DG set operation in the temporary labour camp.

Noise Emanated by Machineries & Equipments

In addition to the drilling activity, site preparation / closure related activities will also involve the operation of heavy equipment like pile drivers, loaders, tippers and bulldozers etc. Such heavy equipments are noted to emit considerable noise emissions which will get dispersed in the nearby communities thus resulting in a decrease in noise quality in the immediately adjacent settlement area. Some activities like piling may also result in minor vibration impacts which are expected to subside to acceptable levels with distance.

Most equipments and machinery have noise control devices. Procurement of equipments will thus have a potential to impact the noise quality.

In addition, the operation of the flare during the testing phase is also expected to cause noise emissions, but being intermittent in nature is not likely to cause any significant impact in terms of permanent decrease in noise quality.

Noise from Vehicular Traffic

Vehicles used for procuring goods, material and manpower to the drilling site and the subsequent transportation of rig/equipments and debris during decommissioning will use the site approach road and village roads, which connect SH-55 and SH-7 to the villages. This will result in increase in traffic density in the site access road and introduction of vehicular traffic on the site approach road and will cause increase in noise levels in the nearby settlements and other sensitive receptors like schools, hospitals etc. located within the acquired block. The residents of these villages are likely to experience higher noise levels due to plying of vehicular traffic on the above discussed roads. This may cause considerable noise disturbances to few residents living in the nearby areas as they were not very used to with such noise exposures. The impact may be considered to be significant given the present environmental setting.

Mitigation Measures

Typical mitigation measures for noise will include the following:



• Sufficient engineering control during installation of equipments and machineries (like mufflers in DG sets) is to be ensured to reduce noise and vibration emission levels at source;

• Proper and timely maintenance of machineries is to be adopted; • Effective noise barrier at the fence-line of the site needs to be setup. • All noise generating operations, except drilling is to be restricted to daytime only to

the extent possible; • Personnel Protective Equipments (PPE) like ear plugs/muffs is to be given to

workers at site. • Undertake preventive maintenance of vehicles and machinery to reduce noise

levels. • Local labour will be hired to the maximum extent possible to reduce the

requirement of DG sets in the camp;

5.2.6 Potential Impact on Air Quality

A number of sources are there to cause potential impacts on air quality, which are as follows:

• Emissions from DG sets used as part of the drilling rig; • Air pollution from the DG sets, which will be used in the temporary camps in the

site; • Flaring of gases primarily during the drilling testing phase will contribute to

additional air pollution; • Fugitive emissions during site preparation and closure phases; • Emissions from vehicular movement within the site;

Emissions from DG sets: Drilling consumes a considerable amount of electric power, for which DG sets would be installed, which can supply around 2000 KVA of power at peak periods. 4 DG sets of 500 KVA each will be installed for fulfilling the peak load of power requirements and 1 DG set of 100 KVA will be installed to fulfill the pota cabin and related emergency power requirements of the labour camp.

The DG sets are the primary contributor to air pollution at the drill site. The primary pollutants emitted by a DG set consist of particulate matter, Oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen, Carbon monoxide and SPM. To assess the quantitative impact of generation of gases, air quality modeling has been carried out using USEPA (United State Environmental Protection Agency) and MoEF approved model ISCST (Industrial Source Complex Short Term), version 3, assuming an operation time of 24 hours, in relation to on-site observed meteorological parameters. The specifications used for modelling are as given in Table 5-4.



TABLE 5-4: DG SET SPECIFICATION

S. No. Particulars Values

1 DG set capacity (KVA) 100 500 3 No of stacks 1 4 4 Height of stack 11 11 5 Diameter of stack (m) 0.15 0.25 6 Exit velocity of gas (m/s) 15.6 30.0 7 Exit gas Temperature (0C) 435 538 8 Sulphur Content in Fuel (%) 0.25 0.25 9 Fuel Consumption (L/h) each DG set at 100% load 24 102 10 Density of Fuel (kg/m3) 856 856

SO2 0.03 0.12 NOx 0.20 1.02 SPM 0.01 0.03

11 Emission rate (g/s) for each DG set

CO 0.08 0.39

In time of assessing the potential impact from DG set operation, following assumption has been taken into consideration: -

• For worst case scenario, all the four DG sets of 500 KVA and one DG set of 100 KVA will run at the same time;

• The DG sets will be placed within the drilling site (an area of 120m x 100m) itself and will cause emission during its operation phase;

The maximum predicted concentrations for SPM, SO2, NOx and CO due to D.G set operation is estimated to be 1.79 µg/m3, 7.17µg/m3, 60.89µg/m3 and 32.4 µg/m3 respectively. The details of the predicted values along with background air quality levels are provided in Table 5-5 through Table 5-8. The spatial distribution of predicted pollutants concentrations are also shown in Figure 5-2 to Figure 5-5.

As all the DG sets would not be operated at the same time, hence the generation of gaseous pollutants in the ambient environment is not going to cause long term impact. The emitted pollutant concentration of NOx will also remain at per the NAAQS. Additionally, maintenance of proper stack height of 11m would help in controlling the ground level concentrations.



TABLE 5-5: IMPACT OF EMISSION OF SPM FROM DG SETS (24 HOURLY AVERAGE)

Highest Maximum 24 Hour GLC

AQ1 AQ2 AQ3 AQ4 AQ5 Concentration (µg/m3)

(200, -200) (4083,-1248) (-815, -1315) (-5301, 5915) (4168, 19752) (7562, 18922)

Incremental SPM without Control 1.79 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02

SPM Baseline (Maximum) 82 89 106 72 87 75 Resultant Concentration 83.79 89.04 106.00 72.00 87.00 75.02

NAAQS 200 µg/m3 200 µg/m3 200 µg/m3 200 µg/m3 200 µg/m3 200 µg/m3

FIGURE 5-2: ISOPLETHS FOR SPM EMISSION FROM DG SETS



TABLE 5-6: IMPACT OF EMISSION OF SO2 FROM DG SETS (24 HOURLY AVERAGE)



(200, -200) (4083,-1248) (-815, -1315) (-5301, 5915) (4168, 19752) (7562, 18922)

Incremental SO2 without Control 7.17 0.17 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.09

SO2 Baseline (Maximum) 12.2 14.1 12.2 16 12.2 11.2 Resultant Concentration 19.4 14.3 12.2 16.0 12.2 11.3


FIGURE 5-3: ISOPLETHS FOR SO2 EMISSION FROM DG SETS



TABLE 5-7: IMPACT OF EMISSION OF NOX FROM DG SETS (24 HOURLY AVERAGE)



(200, -200) (4083,-1248) (-815, -1315) (-5301, 5915) (4168, 19752) (7562, 18922)

Incremental NOx without Control 60.89 1.41 0.11 0.00 0.01 0.73 NOx Baseline (Maximum) 19.8 10.6 19.8 12.2 13 14.8 Resultant Concentration 80.7 12.0 19.9 12.2 13.0 15.5


FIGURE 5-4: ISOPLETHS FOR NOX EMISSION FROM DG SETS



TABLE 5-8: IMPACT OF EMISSION OF CO FROM DG SETS (8 HOURLY AVERAGE)



(300,-300) (4083,-1248) (-815, -1315) (-5301, 5915) (4168, 19752) (7562, 18922)

Incremental CO without Control 32.4 1.20 0.12 0.00 0.01 0.84 CO Baseline (Maximum) 944 944 944 954 952 956 Resultant Concentration 976.4 945.2 944.1 954.0 952.0 956.8


FIGURE 5-5: ISOPLETHS FOR CO EMISSION FROM DG SETS



Flaring:

Flaring of gases primarily during the well testing phase will contribute to additional air pollution in terms of unburnt hydrocarbons. Location of the flaring stack will have the potential to affect the air quality at the nearby receptors. Flaring will involve high temperature oxidation process to burn combustible gases that may be generated from the proposed well. In the combustion, natural gas comprising of gaseous hydrocarbons will get oxidized to CO2 and water. Emissions from flaring will include carbon particles (soot), unburnt hydrocarbons, CO and other partially burned or altered hydrocarbons, NOx, and sometimes SO2 also, if sulphur-containing materials such as hydrogen sulphide are flared. However, given the fact that, flaring occur for intermittent phases and will not last for more than a few days, the impacts on air quality will not be significant.

Fugitive Emissions

Fugitive emissions due to the proposed project will be principally associated with emissions of dust during the initial site preparation and closure phases. This fugitive emission can cause settle down at nearby residential properties and on agricultural lands. In addition, fugitive emissions in the form of material dust are also expected during drilling operations like loading, unloading, handling of drilling fluid, chemical additives, cement and cement additives etc. The potential for dust to be emitted during site preparation and rehabilitation activities is strongly dependent on the type of activities taking place, such as the movement of vehicles along the approach and connecting roads and their speed, soil stripping, trench excavation, back-filling and restoration. The prevailing wind speed and a particular wind direction may carry emitted particles towards sensitive receptors and can act as key factors in determining the frequencies and durations with which such impacts might occur. There is a chance of dust emissions to get heightened by dry weather and high wind speeds prevailing in Mahesana and Patan region, where the block is located. Fugitive dust may also impact agricultural crops in and around the drill sites within the acquired block.

Some fugitive emissions are also anticipated from storages of volatile chemicals and fuel at the site, if not capped properly or are not handled with due care. However, such emissions will not disperse widely and can only affect workers health at site.

Emissions from Vehicles/Equipments

This kind of emissions will principally arise from the vehicles used for the transport of construction materials and equipment, for the workers and for the transport of drilling rig to the site. Most equipments, machinery and vehicles have inbuilt pollution control devices. Procurement of equipments/vehicles will thus have a potential to impact the air quality. There will be a chance that, the workers on the site would get exposed to this



type of emission from the vehicles. During the dry season, the air pollution will be caused by re-entrainment dust from vehicular operation on dry roads.

However, their effects are highly localized and will principally affect the localities adjacent to the access road.


The mitigation measures for air quality impacts are briefly described below:

• The exhaust of the DG set will be at sufficient height to allow dispersion of the pollutants and DG sets will be properly maintained so that emissions will be under statutory limits;

• Improvement of combustion efficiency by ensuring maintenance and replacement of air, fuel filters for DG sets;

• Location of the flare stack will be decided at the design stage taking into consideration nearest habitations and campsite location;

• The storage and handling of spoil, sub-soils, top-soils and materials will be carefully managed to minimize the risk of wind blown material and dust;

• The flaring system will be properly managed at all times;. • Water spraying will be done on the access roads to control re-entrained dust during

dry season; • Most of the equipment, machinery and vehicles have inbuilt pollution control

devices. Thus selection of equipment and machinery will be considered as a measure for source prevention of air pollution;

• The engines and exhaust systems of all vehicles and equipment used in this project will be maintained as such, that exhaust emissions are low and do not breach statutory limits set for the concerned vehicle/equipment type;

5.2.7 Potential Impact on Ecology

The predicated impact of the proposed drilling activity on the local as well as regional ecology is not very significant. The site selected for study lacks reserve forest, protected forest, planted forest, national park, bird sanctuary etc. which bears ecological significance. The existing ecology in the study comprises of man made habitat dominated by agricultural sets up with biannual crop rotation. The detailed ecological impact is summarized below.

Impacts on wildlife habitat in the Non Forested Area:

The land use data presented earlier in the baseline shows that most of the area of Part – A come under man made ecosystem, viz agricultural land, village woodlot, farm forest etc. The movement of Nilgai in the open agricultural land, mainly during night time was



envisaged in time of the primary survey. The frequent vehicular movement during the drilling phase may cause casualty to them. As per the provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 this animal comes under the list of Schedule III, according to which, it does not required very special protection for carrying out necessary project work. Apart from this, no designated wild life habitat was reported during the site survey in core and buffer zone except for few small mammals and common birds recorded during faunal study. However, the drilling activity, being a temporary work, will not hamper the ecological balance of the area and will not cause permanent shifting of any birds or any faunal habitats.

Undergrowth clearance will be required in land, where growth of village woodlots and farm forest are noted. Uprooting of trees except shrubs and herbs will not be required during site preparation, so that impact on the vegetation will not be a major issue. Therefore the predicted impact due to project will be low.

Impact on aquatic habitats:

Lentic (unmoving water bodies, like lake, ponds etc) water bodies are reported in core and buffer zone. Continuous operation of machineries may affect the aquatic habitat in the form of noise generated from drilling. However the noise from drilling operation will be controlled by installing the DG sets in acoustically treated enclosures with silencers fitted to air intake and exhaust vents.

Mitigation Measures

A range of measures will be adopted during the site preparation and reinstatement phases to mitigate potential impacts on the biological environment, which includes the following.

• The working area which has to be disturbed will be kept minimal at all times; • The working area will be reinstated taking into account nature conservation issues,

to stabilize the replaced soils against consequent erosion; • All accidental discharges would be controlled before it reaches any surface water

body in order to avoid any disturbance to aquatic habitat from any sort of water contamination;

• All process and domestic waste water would be adequately treated before discharge;

5.2.8 Potential Impact on Socio -Economic Environment

Based on the nature and type of impacts, the assessment has been divided into two sections namely:

• Impact on the surrounding inhabitants in neighboring villages;



• Impact on the neighboring schools and other sensitive areas closer to the site.

The discussions in this section has covered negative and few positive impacts associated with the project. The negative/adverse impacts have covered health, noise, road safety and social values, where as the term positive impacts refer to job creation, infrastructure development etc.

Potential Adverse Impacts to Local Population

The population living in the periphery of the proposed site as well as in the surrounding villages will be exposed to noise, dust and frequent movement of trucks at the time of construction. Adequate onsite precautions will be adopted to minimize those effects. This community can look forward to number of benefits like jobs, access to utilities, availability of better infrastructure like roads and also in terms of wider economy generation.

Adverse Impacts:

Land use: The site identified and selected for the exploratory and drilling purpose will be strictly confined within the acquired block, where agricultural activity is a major economy with no other activity was identified. The site preparation for the commencement of drilling operations will involve the clearance of existing ground vegetation and temporary disturbance to agricultural activities.

However, this will result in temporary change of land use as drilling will be a temporary activity lasting for about 3-4 months and the site will be restored in line with local regulations and good industry practice at end of the project cycle.

Transport and Road Safety: Drilling activity involves the movement of heavy vehicles including 20-25 truck load and machineries resulting in the health and safety of villagers and school children being a major issue of concern especially near the village settlements of Ruppura, Jitoda located adjacent to the approach road to the site within Part-A of the block. Although the exact locations of the drilling site have not yet been finalized, the wells will be confined within the acquired block. However the likelihood of vehicles and other heavy equipments plying through the road may have this implication.

Influx of population: The functioning of workers camp, the warehouse and the office will cause an influx of population. The campsite will provide shelter to approximately 30-35 workers; also the drilling activities will involve a large number of labours including security staff. Thus there may be an impact on the surrounding areas:

a. Use of common resource: There might be an impact in the surrounding area due to the sharing of common resources like space, drinking water, roads etc.



b. Interaction of the workers residing in the campsite with the villagers: It might give rise to various issues like conflict of workers with the local population, safety and privacy issues of the women of the surrounding villages, spread of various communicable diseases, nuisance caused by workers due to improper sanitation facilities etc.

Noise discomfort: Increase in vehicular movement and ongoing drilling activity is likely to have major impacts in increasing the noise level of the surrounding areas.

Health and Safety: Flaring of gasses, during the drilling and well testing stage, presents a safety concern for the residents of the adjacent villages and for the work force residing in the camp site. The probability of accidental release of gas or liquid hydro carbon or a blow out during the exploratory drilling of the well will be there within the drill site.

Beneficial Impacts:

Employment opportunities: The project will benefit the people living in the neighboring villages by giving preference to them in relation to direct employment associated with the various project related activities including drilling. The land filling process of the site area during the site preparation phase will involve a certain number of labourers, where in, local people can be engaged for this purpose. The drilling process will involve a number of skilled and unskilled workers. There is a possibility that local people will be engaged for this purpose to the extent possible and hence improve the existing employment scenario of the region.

However, the jobs, which require technical involvement, would not encourage hiring of the villagers, as they can only be employed in certain non-technical or casual labor jobs and that too for a limited duration. It is proposed that first preference will be given to people whose land is acquired and to their relatives. The next preference will be given to the poorer people and subsequently to the other villagers. Considering this, the impact is significantly positive.

Development of the area and Impact on the local economy: Since the drilling activities involve a large number of workers residing in the site area, there will be a significant rise in the developmental and commercial activities of the region. Local business (e.g. suppliers of construction materials, shop owners of stationery and grocery shops of the nearby area) in this region is also expected to flourish. The proposed project is therefore likely to benefit the people living in the neighboring village by boosting the local economy. Additional expenditures incurred by those employed at the facility are likely to enhance the economy of the region. The villagers engaged in side work activities like running shops within the villages or near the project site, vendors or domestic helps are likely to be benefited from the project.



Improvement in road condition: The villagers would be benefited through the project, since during the site preparatory phase the existing earthen road to be used as the approach road to the drill site, would be upgraded and would thereby ensure better accessibility to the villagers. At the same time, the wooden bridge near (if any with poor condition) will be strengthened to ensure even movement of vehicles and drilling machineries to the site.

The earthen approach road (if any) to the site will be strengthened to ensure accessibility of vehicles, trucks along with drilling rigs and heavy drilling equipments. Such up gradation of the roads and bridges will help in providing better accessibility to the inhabitants living in the site as well as to the villagers who avail these roads.

Mitigation Measures

The details of the mitigation measures to be taken to minimize adverse socioeconomic impacts and at the same time accentuate positive impacts to the communities in the surrounding villages are discussed in detail in the Social Management Plan section of Chapter 9.



TABLE 5-9: CONSEQUENCES CATEGORY SCORING MATRIX

Physical Environment Biological Environment Socio-Economic Environment

Sl. No. Activity Sub-Activity A

esth

etic

s & V

isua

l im

pact

s

Air

Qua

lity

Noi

se Q

ualit

y

Land

Env

ironm

ent (

Soil

Qua

lity)

Loca

l Dra

inag

e &

Phy

siog

raph

y

Surf

ace

wat

er q

uant

ity

Surf

ace

wat

er q

ualit

y

Gro

und

wat

er q

ualit

y

Terr

estri

al

Hab

itat

&

Nat

ural

Res

ourc

es

Aqu

atic

Hab

itat &

flor

a, fa

una

Agr

icul

ture

Aqu

acul

ture

Influ

x of

Pop

ulat

ion

Com

mon

Pro

perty

Res

ourc

es

Acc

ess t

o A

men

ities

Job

& E

cono

mic

Opp

ortu

nity

Cul

tura

l & B

ehav

iour

al C

onfli

ct

Land

Use

Con

flict

Infr

astru

ctur

e U

se

Hea

lth &

Saf

ety

A DESIGN & PLANNING STAGE

A.1 Physical Presence of

well site and associated infrastructure Site Selection /

Physical Presence / Land Lease 2 3 2 2

A.2 Physical presence of Quarry and Borrow site for project usage

Identification of Quarry and Borrow site / Selection of Haul Routes 2 2

A.3 Design of Cut & Fill Operations for drilling platform & road development

Design of Cut/ Filling Operation 2 2

A.4 Designing and Installation of Flares

Location of Flare Stack 1 1 2

A.5 Procurement of Machinery and Equipment

- 2 3



A.6 Selection of Drilling Chemicals

- 2 3 A.7 Design of Chemical &

Fuel Storage - 2 2 2 2

B APPROACH ROAD & SITE DEVELOPMENT

B.1 Road Development &

Cross Drainage works

Removal/ Storage of top soil 3 2 2 ++

Raising of land 2 2 3 2 ++

Operation of machineries 2 2 2

Operation of Borrowing 2 ++ 2

B.2 Land filling including Padding Removal/ Storage

of top soil 2 3 2 3 ++

Raising of land 2 3 2 3 ++ Operation of

machineries 2 2 2 Transport of

Materials 2 2 2 2 2 B.3 Physical Presence for

drilling Physical Presence at site 3 2 1 2

Construction of Labour Camp 2

B.4 Storage & Handling of Materials & Spoils

- 2 2 2 2 2



B.5 Transport of Materials, Spoils and Machinery

-

2 2 3 C DRILLING &

TESTING ACTIVITY

C.1 Operation &

maintenance of rig and associated and machinery Power/ energy

generation & consumption 3 3

Operation & maintenance of equipment / machinery 2 3 2 3 3

Consumption of water 2

Drilling Mud Preparation / Handling 2 2 2 2 2

C.2 Operation & maintenance of Vehicles

- 2 2 2 2 C.3 Casing & cementing of

well Preparation/usage of cement slurry 2

Casing /cementing of well 2

C.4 Temporary storage, handling & disposal of process waste Storage /disposal

of drill cuttings, unused/return mud 3 3 3 2



Storage / disposal of Spent Oil and Lubricants 2 2 2 2 2

Disposal of used battery pent filter 2 2 2 2

Storage /disposal of metallic, packing, scrap, office waste 2 2 2

C.5 Testing & Flaring of natural gas

- 2 C.6 Workforce

accommodation & sanitation

Workforce accommodation / sanitation 1 ++ 2

Discharge of domestic waste water 2 1

Storage/disposal of domestic, food, waste 2 2

C.7 Discharge of process waste water

- 3 2 C.8 Sourcing &

transportation of work force, material (equipment, chemicals, fuel, water)

- 2 1 1 2 C.9 Storage and handling of

materials Storage / Handling of chemicals/fuel 2 1 1



C.10 Technical Emergencies

Accidental release of gas/liquid hydrocarbons 4

D DECOMMISSIONING /CLOSURE

D.1 Dismantling of rig &

associated machineries

- 2 2 2 2 D.2 Transportation of

drilling facilities - 2 2 1

D.3 Reclamation of land Transport of Spoils/Debris 2 2

Disposal of Spoils/Debris 1 1 1

Reclamation of land ++ ++ ++



TABLE 5-10: LIKELIHOOD CATEGORY SCORING MATRIX



esth

etic

s & V

isua

l im

pact

s

Air

Qua

lity

Noi

se Q

ualit

y

Land

En

viro

nmen

t (S

oil

Qua

lity)

Loca

l D

rain

age

&Ph

ysio

grap

hy

Surf

ace

wat

er q

uant

ity

Surf

ace

wat

er q

ualit

y

Gro

und

wat

er q

ualit

y

Terr

estri

al H

abita

t & N

atur

alR

esou

rces

Aqu

atic

H

abita

t &

flo

ra,

faun

a

Agr

icul

ture

Aqu

acul

ture

Influ

x of

Pop

ulat

ion

Com

mon

Pr

oper

tyR

esou

rces

Acc

ess t

o A

men

ities

Job

&

Econ

omic

Opp

ortu

nity

Cul

tura

l &

B

ehav

iour

alC

onfli

ct

Land

Use

Con

flict

Infr

astru

ctur

e U

se

Hea

lth &

Saf

ety




Physical Presence / Land Lease 2 3 3 4 2 2 2


Identification of Quarry and Borrow site / Selection of Haul Routes 2 2 3 1 2 2


Design of Cut/ Filling Operation 3




- 2 2



A.6 Selection of Drilling Chemicals

- 2 3 A.7 Design of Chemical &

Fuel Storage - 2 2 2 2

B APPROACH ROAD & SITE DEVELOPMENT



Removal/ Storage of top soil 3 2

Raising of land 2 2 2 2

Operation of machineries 3 3 2 2

Operation of Borrowing 2 2


of top soil 3 2

Raising of land 2 2 2 2 Operation of

machineries 3 3 2 2 Transport of

Materials 3 3 3 2 2 B.3 Physical Presence for


Construction of Labour Camp ++ 2 2


- 2 2 2 3 2




-

3 3 2 2 2 C DRILLING &

TESTING ACTIVITY

C.1 Operation &


generation & consumption 4 4 2

Operation & maintenance of equipment / machinery 3 3 3


Drilling Mud Preparation / Handling 3 2 2 2


- 3 3 2 2 C.3 Casing & cementing of

well Preparation/usage of cement slurry 3 3 3 2

Casing /cementing of well 1 3


of drill cuttings, unused/return mud 2 2 2 2 2



Storage / disposal of Spent Oil and Lubricants 2 2 2 2 2 2


Storage /disposal of metallic, packing, scrap, office waste 2 2 2 2


- 3 C.6 Workforce


Workforce accommodation / sanitation 2 2 3 ++ 2 2

Discharge of domestic waste water 2 2 1

Storage/disposal of domestic, food, waste 2 2


- 2 2 2 C.8 Sourcing &


- 2 2 2 ++ C.9 Storage and handling of









- 3 2 3 3 2 D.2 Transportation of

drilling facilities - 2 2

D.3 Reclamation of land Transport of Spoils/Debris 2 2 2 2 2 2

Disposal of Spoils/Debris 3 2 2 2




TABLE 5-11: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SIGNIFICANCE MATRIX



esth

etic

s &

V

isua

lim

pact

s

Air

Qua

lity

Noi

se Q

ualit

y

Land

Env

ironm

ent (

Soil

Qua

lity)

Loca

l D

rain

age

&Ph

ysio

grap

hy

Surf

ace

wat

er q

uant

ity

Surf

ace

Wat

er Q

ualit

y

Gro

und

wat

er q

ualit

y

Terr

estri

al

Hab

itat

&N

atur

al R

esou

rces

Aqu

atic

Hab

itat &

flor

a,fa

una

Agr

icul

ture

Aqu

acul

ture

Influ

x of

Pop

ulat

ion

Com

mon

Pr

oper

tyR

esou

rces

Acc

ess t

o A

men

ities

Job

&

Econ

omic

Opp

ortu

nity

Cul

tura

l &

Beh

avio

ural

Con

flict

Land

Use

Con

flict

Infr

astru

ctur

e U

se

Hea

lth &

Saf

ety




Physical Presence / Land Lease 2 6 3 12 4 2 4


Identification of Quarry and Borrow site / Selection of Haul Routes 4 2 6 2 2


Design of Cut/ Filling Operation 6 2




- 4 6 A.6 Selection of Drilling

Chemicals - 2 2 9



A.7 Design of Chemical & Fuel Storage

- 4 2 2 4 4 B APPROACH ROAD &

SITE DEVELOPMENT



Removal/ Storage of top soil 9 4 2 ++

Raising of land 4 4 6 4 ++

Operation of machineries 6 6 4 2 2

Operation of Borrowing 4 ++ 4


of top soil 2 9 4 3 ++

Raising of land 4 2 6 4 3 ++ Operation of

machineries 6 6 4 2 4 Transport of

Materials 6 6 6 2 2 4 B.3 Physical Presence for


Construction of Labour Camp ++ 4 2


- 4 4 4 6 4




-

6 6 2 2 6 C DRILLING &

TESTING ACTIVITY

C.1 Operation &


generation & consumption 12 12 2

Operation & maintenance of equipment / machinery 6 9 6 3 3


Drilling Mud Preparation / Handling 6 4 4 2 4


- 6 6 2 2 2 C.3 Casing & cementing of

well Preparation/usage of cement slurry 3 6 3 2

Casing /cementing of well 2 3


of drill cuttings, unused/return mud 6 6 6 4 2



Storage / disposal of Spent Oil and Lubricants 4 4 4 2 4 4


Storage /disposal of metallic, packing, scrap, office waste 2 4 2 4 2


- 6 C.6 Workforce


Workforce accommodation / sanitation 2 2 3 ++ 4 2

Discharge of domestic waste water 4 2 1 1

Storage/disposal of domestic, food, waste 2 4 2


- 6 2 2 2 C.8 Sourcing &


- 4 2 1 2 ++ 2 C.9 Storage and handling of









- 6 4 6 6 2 D.2 Transportation of

drilling facilities - 4 4 1

D.3 Reclamation of land Transport of Spoils/Debris 4 4 2 2 2

Disposal of Spoils/Debris 3 2 1 2


EIA Report for Exploratory Drilling - Cambay Basin


6.0 Environmental Monitoring Programme

Monitoring is one of the most important components of a successful management system. Continuous monitoring needs to be carried out for regulatory permit requirements related to environmental effects and to assess performance of EMP implementation. Monitoring indicators have been developed for each of the activity considering the mitigation measures proposed. Indicators have been developed for ascertaining the performance of the EMP implementation which focuses not only on quantifying or indexing activity-environment interactions that may potentially impact the environment but at the same time will also help in comparing different components of environmental quality against previously established baseline values. Monitoring results would be documented, analyzed and reported internally to Drilling Supervisor and HSE Coordinator.

Monitoring requirements along with frequency of monitoring and responsibility of carrying out the monitoring have been described in the following Table 6-1.

The table also categorizes each indicator presented according to the project phase in which they have to be monitored under the following categories:

1. Disturbance to Local Environment 2. Disturbance to Local Communities 3. Global Environmental Problems 4. Resource Consumption 5. Waste Generation 6. Benefits to the Local Population

Each indicator has been tagged with an EI number (Refer Table 6-1) in order to establish the linkage between the suggested mitigation measures and the proposed monitoring framework.



TABLE 6-1: PROPOSED MONITORING REQUIREMENTS FOR IOCL DRILLING PROJECT

EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency A Design and Planning A.1

Nearest habitation to drill site Distance between the drill site and nearest village settlement within the block

Once in project lifecycle

A.2 Location and size of land leased Number of land owners affected Total area leased for the drill sites (Ha)


A.3

Present Crop Cultivation Pattern Cropping period (in months) Before the commencement of drill sites & after the completion of drilling

A.4 Land use Land use type Once in project lifecycle A.5

Approval / Authorization of quarries

Validity of the Approval / Authorization of particular quarries

Before the commencement of drill sites preparation

A.6

Haul Routes Distance of quarry / borrow area from project site Condition of haul road & connecting road to the acquired block

Before the commencement of drill sites preparation

A.7 Terrestrial Habitat/Ground Vegetation Cover

Intensity of removal of ground vegetation Distance of borrow areas from the acquired block Species Diversity Index

Before the commencement of drill sites preparation During identification of borrow areas During identification of borrow areas

A.8 Compliance of Air standards Percentage of machinery and equipment use, which meets source emission standards

Before the deployment of machineries and equipments at drill sites

A.9 Compliance of Noise standards Percentage of machinery and equipment use, which meets source emission standards

Before the deployment of machineries and equipments at drill sites

A.14 Hazardous / Toxic Drilling Chemicals

List of Hazardous / Toxic Drilling Chemicals to be used in drilling project

In time of selection of materials to be used before the starting of drilling

A.15 Chemical and fuel storage Area of chemical and fuel storage During the drilling process



EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency Maintenance of such storage area Height of chemical and fuel storage area

A.16 Emissions during flaring Height of flare stack Location of flare stack with respect to campsite and habitations


A.17 Consultation with villagers Number of consultations with villagers regarding selection of rout, access to agricultural fields etc

At the initial planning phase

B Approach Road & Site Development B.1 Topsoil Area occupied for topsoil storage/ Area

planned for topsoil storage Height of topsoil stockpile

Weekly during site preparation

B.2 Fugitive emission of dust during site preparation

Visual observation of dust in air by haziness Daily during site preparation

B.3 Fugitive emission of dust during material transport

Visual observation of dust in air by haziness

Daily during site preparation

B.4 Fugitive emission of dust during material handling and storage

Visual observation of dust in air by haziness Daily during the entire project life-cycle

B.5 Air emissions from vehicles and machineries

SPM, NOx, SOx, CO, HC based on emission factors Visual observation of emissions Percentage of vehicles, which possess valid PUCC Certificates

Once in project lifecycle Daily Contractor selection on Case-to-case basis - if considerable emissions observed during operations

B.6

Ambient Air Quality Visual observation Odour/smell (NOx) Measurement of PM10, SOx, NOx, CO, using HVS

Daily during site development and road works (if any) Monthly during site development and road works (if any)



EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency B.7 Night time operations of

vehicles & machinery Hours of operation during night time


B.8 Noise emissions from vehicles and machineries

Noise pressure level in dB(A) near noise sources


B.9 Ambient noise quality Hearing / perception Measurement of Noise Pressure Level in dB(A)

Daily at site and during road works (if any) Monthly at site and during access road up gradation works (if any)

B.10 Subsoil Compaction from vehicular movement

Visual observation of compacted area / trampled vegetation / crops


B.11 Servicing schedule for vehicles Percentage of vehicles not complying with the servicing schedule

Monthly during site preparation

B.12 Supervision of movement of heavy vehicles within site

Number of vehicles reported with movement outside platform area and along access road


B.13 Soil Fertility Fertility parameters like pH, NPK ratio etc. Once before site preparation B.14 Quality of water

Visual observation Analysis of Parameters as per CPCB Use-class

Daily during site preparation Monthly during site works

B.15 Condition of Natural Habitats (forests etc.)

Visual observation of signs of visible pollution / degradation

Monthly during site development

B.16 Local labour force Number of temporary land losers (or their family members) employed in project activities


C Drilling & Testing Activity

C.1 Gaseous pollutant emissions from DG Set

Maintenance parameters (air, fuel filters & air-fuel ratio) of DG sets influencing air emissions

Monthly during drilling & testing



EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency Visual observation of exhaust smoke characteristics Emission rates of PM10, NOx, SOx, CO, HC based on emission factors

Daily during drilling & testing For the entire project life-cycle period

C.2 Noise emission from DG Sets Noise pressure level in dB(A) Daily during the entire project life-cycle (day

& night)

C.3 Noise emission from drilling rig

Noise pressure level in dB(A) Number of workers affected for not using PPE

Daily during the entire project life-cycle (day & night) Case specific (if required at all)

C.4 Noise emissions from vehicles Noise pressure level in dB(A) Very much case specific, if in case high

noise is noticed C.5 Ground water usage Daily withdrawal rate Daily

C.6 Waste from Spillage containment

Quantity of generated waste Storage & disposal details

Daily during entire life-cycle of project Daily during entire life-cycle of project

C.7 Spilled Chemicals/Oil

Area of Spill / Quantity Spilled / Severity of Spill / Characterization of Spilled Substances for Contaminants (Heavy Metals, Toxics etc.) Storage & Disposal Details (Qty, Method)

As and when spills occur

C8 Fugitive emission of cement dust during handling and storage

Visual observation of cement dust in air by haziness

Daily during the entire project life-cycle

C9 Runoff from temporary storage areas

Supervision of functioning of conduits / drains channelising runoff into the waste pit Maintenance of temporary storage area allocated for hazardous waste & waste oil

Fortnightly during drilling phase



EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency etc

C.10 Engineering control at the disposal site

Supervision of waste disposal point within the drill site or at the final disposal site


C.11 Runoff from final disposal site Supervision of slope and angle of the waste disposal site and functioning of garland drains


C.12 Waste Oil and Lubricants Volume of waste generated Details of storage & disposal method

Daily during entire life-cycle of project

C.13 Spent batteries Numbers, size, Storage & disposal details Authorization of waste recyclers of spent batteries


C.14 Metallic, packing, scrap waste

Quantity of waste generated Details of storage & disposal


C.15 Emissions from Flaring Total CO, Non-Methane Hydrocarbons, NOx emission estimates based on emission factors

Once during well testing

C.16 Domestic Solid Waste Quantity of waste generated Storage & disposal details and frequency of disposal


C.17 Sewage (Black, grey water) quantity & quality

Volume estimate Basic pollutant parameters (pH, solids, COD)

Daily during the project life-cycle For every batch of wastewater discharge

C.18 Quantity & quality of process waste water from rig operation

Volume estimate Basic pollutant parameters (pH, solids, COD)

Daily during the project life-cycle For every batch of wastewater discharge

C.19 Air emissions from vehicles SPM, NOx, SOx, CO, HC based on emission factors Visual observation of pollutant emissions in

Once in project lifecycle Daily



EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency the air Percentage of vehicles possessing valid PUCC Certificates

Contractor Selection, as it is very much case specific (only if considerable emissions observed during operations)

C.20 Fugitive emission of dust during material transport

Visual observation of dust in air by haziness Daily during the entire project life-cycle

C21 Servicing schedule for vehicles Percentage of vehicles not complying with the servicing schedule

Monthly during drilling phase

C.22 Evacuation Procedures Arrangements for safe shelters, evacuation routes and vehicles Once during drilling phase

C.23 Emergency response during blow out prevention

Number and availability of trained personnel Availability of contingency plan for blow out, oil spill & other emergency

Well before the commencement of drilling

C.24 Total Discharge in to the stream Discharge volume

Daily during drilling & testing Monthly during drilling & testing

D Decommissioning / Closure D.1 Noise pressure level in dB(A) Near noise emission sources

Hearing / perception Measurement of Noise Pressure Level in dB(A)

Daily during decommissioning Daily during decommissioning Monthly during decommissioning

D.2 Decommissioning waste Quantity of waste generated Detailed methods of storage & disposal

Once the decommissioning will start

D.3 Air emissions from vehicles SPM, NOx, SOx, CO, HC based on emission factors Visual observation of emissions from truck movement during decommissioning of equipments & machineries from site

During decommissioning phase Daily Contractor selection in case considerable emissions observed during operations



EI No. Environmental Indicator (EI) Monitoring Parameter Period & Frequency Percentage of vehicles possessing valid PUCC Certificates

D.4 Fugitive emission of dust during transport demobilization of drilling facilities

Visual observation of dust in air by haziness Daily during the entire demobilization period

D.5 Fugitive emission of dust during excavation of raised platform

Visual observation of dust in air by haziness Daily during the entire demobilization period

D.6 Site restoration Visual observation of : Clearing of decommissioning waste Leveling of site Relaying of top soil Regeneration of top soil

Daily during decommissioning period

D.7 Quality of water

Visual observation Analysis of Parameters as per CPCB Use-class

Daily during decommissioning Monthly during decommissioning

D.8 Ambient Air Quality Visual observation Odour/smell (NOx) Measurement of SPM, RPM, SOx, NOx, CO by using HVS

Daily during decommissioning Monthly during decommissioning

D.9 Soil Fertility Fertility parameters like pH, NPK ratio etc. Once after completion of site restoration D.10 Consultation with villagers Number of consultations with villagers

regarding site restoration Before starting of demobilization & restoration of site to its original condition



7.0 Additional Studies

7.1 PUBIC CONSULTATION

“Public Consultation” refers to the process by which the concerns of local affected persons and others who have plausible stake in the environmental impacts of the project or activity are ascertained with a view to taking into account all the material concerns in the project or activity design as appropriate. As per the EIA Notification, dated 14th September, 2006, All Category ‘A’ and Category B1 projects or activities shall undertake Public Consultation.

The Public Consultation shall be carried out in the form of Public Hearing. A public hearing at the site or in its close proximity (district wise) has to be carried out in the manner prescribed in EIA Notification for ascertaining concerns of local affected persons. The public hearing at, or in close proximity to the site(s) shall be conducted by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) in the specified manner and forward the proceedings to the regulatory authority concerned within 45(forty five) days of a request to the effect from the applicant.

As per the EIA Notification and the additional TOR issued by MoEF, this EIA/EMP report should be submitted to the Chairman, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat for public consultation. The GPCB shall conduct the public hearing/public consultation as per the provisions of EIA Notification, 2006.

After completion of the public consultation, IOCL would address all the material environmental concerns expressed during this process and make appropriate changes in the draft EIA and EMP. The final EIA report, so prepared, shall be submitted by IOCL to the concerned regulatory authority (MoEF) for appraisal.

7.2 EMERGENCY AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

7.2.1 Technological Emergencies

The probability of the accidental release of gas or liquid hydrocarbons or a blowout during the drilling of the exploratory well is very low, hence any likely consequences discussed are nominal. However, such accidents may take place for which IOCL has to formulate the overall environmental emergency response plan. This method will help IOCL to:

• Obtain an early warning of emergency conditions so as to prevent a negative impact on personnel, on the environment and assets;

• Safeguard personnel to prevent injuries or loss of life by either protecting personnel from the hazard and/or evacuating them from the facilities;

• Minimize the impact of such an event on the environment and the facilities, by mitigating the potential for further escalation of such incident;

• Evacuate villagers and/or pedestrians in the nearby areas to the drill site, if necessary;

IOCL will develop appropriate contingency plans for Blowout, Oil spills and other related emergencies, well before the starting of drilling work to effectively respond to any such incidents that might arise during the project life cycle.



IOCL will develop a comprehensive site specific emergency management plan complying with the MSIHC (Manufacture, Storage & Import of Hazardous Chemicals) Rules. The plan will take into account both on-site and off-site consequences of probable accidents and will be based on the existing planning documents mentioned above. Subsequently the plans will be linked with local administration, local communities, and other operators in the area to provide necessary support to manage the emergency and also to disseminate information on the hazards associated with the emergency.

7.2.2 Spill Management

At the drilling site, diesel oil and chemicals are stored in huge amount, which is a major subject of concern. Very often, leakages from these oil storage areas may take place, which can cause hazardous accidents to take place. Sometimes, the uncontrolled spillage from these storage areas may lead to the storm-water run-off contamination unless managed properly. In order to control such incidents, a proper spill response and management plan will be adopted. These measures are essential to prevent such spills and related accidents from happening, and in the case they do take place, the spill will be controlled to a limited area and IOCL would take necessary mitigative actions immediately.

In order to address spill related contamination issues, measures will be taken at the very initial stage of designing of drill site. Adequate bunding has to be provided around all chemical storages and handling areas and such places will be duly covered by a shed to prevent rain water to infiltrate such areas, thereby preventing generation of contaminated runoff. The same arrangements will also be made at the Warehouse. Additionally, all such storages and handling/transfer of chemicals will be made over paved land and/or HDPE liner will be used so that no chemicals directly come in touch with soil and cause contamination through spillages.

Additionally, following measures will be adopted as preventive measures at the site:

• Fuelling will take place in a designated area: • Personnel at the site will be provided with Personal Protective Equipments (PPE); • No oil change will be carried out without ensuring adequate protection; • The hazardous wastes causing accidents will be immediately transferred to the

hazardous waste disposal site;



8.0 Project Benefits

The proposed exploratory drilling of oil and gas will impose the following benefits to the society as well as the economy at a large scale. Following benefits are envisaged from the proposed drilling operation:

8.1 IMPROVEMENT IN THE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The site development may lead to additional improvement in the access road connectivity in the area, if required. The proposed activity may sometimes lead to improvement in bridges over the canals as and when required.

8.2 EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL

During site construction, approximately 35 to 40 workmen are likely to be involved. Most of the people employed during the stage would be semi-skilled. People from adjoining areas would be given preference according to the skill sets possessed.

8.3 IMPROVEMENT IN THE FUTURE ECONOMY

The proposed exploratory drilling activity may have the potential for future benefits, if proved to be economically viable for future production of oil.



9.0 Environmental Management Plan & Framework

9.1 OVERVIEW

This Environmental Management Plan and Framework is a site specific document for the proposed drilling project at Mahesana and Patan. This plan will ensure that IOCL will implement the project in an environmentally sustainable manner, where all contractors, understand the potential environmental risks arising from the proposed project and take appropriate actions to properly manage such risks.

This EMP will be considered to be an overview document that will guide environment management of all aspects of IOCL’s activities in both the part of the block. This EMP may also be considered as flexible and will be backed up by more specific Environmental Action Plans, procedures and updated documents with the progress of the well planning.

The EMP describes these actions in terms of:

• National Policies and Regulations • International Conventions • Best Practices and guides • Local Environmental and Social Sensitivities

9.2 ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Environment Management Plan furthers detail out the mitigation measures to be taken by IOCL and the Contractors during the various phases of the project cycle. The proposed EMP does not include any measures to be taken during construction of roads, as the probability of new road development is very less in the region and almost all the connecting roads and approach roads to the site are well developed. However, if in case any road developments or Upgradation is required as part of the project, IOCL will ensure adequate environmental concerns.

The environmental mitigation measures and plans are presented according to the sequential flow of activities in the project life cycle. The first matrix is generic (Refer Table 6.1), focusing on strategies to be adopted for safe guard of the environment from possible impacts resulting from the project activities and it is applicable for both the parts (Part-A and Part-B) of the block.

9.2.1 Site Planning, Designing & Equipment Selection Phase

Proper site planning and design can result in preventive mitigation measures that may considerably reduce impacts arising out of the proposed project. IOCL’s team for planning and designing will work in close cooperation with the Lead HSE Engineer to look at preventive options at the very beginning of the project life cycle based on findings of this EIA study. This will ensure that the need for “end-of-the-pipe” solutions will be minimized, to the extent possible. Some of the proposed measures that need to be adopted are discussed below:



Topography, Drainage & Soil Management

For site preparation and elevation purposes, padding and fill materials usually bring to the site and lay over the site area, to heighten it to about 2.0 m above ground level. During this phase, following measures have to be adopted:

• The padding and fill material will have to be brought in from some nearby places and have to laid over the site area;

• During padding and fill operations, it will also be ensured that alteration of the natural drainage at the micro-watershed level around the site is kept to a minimum;

• The slope of the padded area and the storm water drainage system will be maintained by providing garland drain along the site to channelize the storm water run-off and drains it into the nearby rivers towards the south east;

• The slope of the land will be maintained during designing of the drains for the purpose of waste water handlings at site;

• Excess compaction of the soil by vehicular movement during padding and filling will be prevented in some areas (like campsite) where it is not required;

• Sediment interception barriers will be provided for run-off occur during site preparation at those points, through which, run-off is expected to flow into the garland drain;

Procurement of Contracts

Contractors will play a crucial role in all the phases of the project implementation as significant tasks under the proposed project will be undertaken by them, hence IOCL will also ensure that the EMP will be successfully implemented through the contractors and they adhere to all applicable standards and regulations relating to environment. Contractors will be required to implement both generic and site specific (if any decided) commitments made in the EIA and will be included as part of the contract.

In addition, the following measures will be implemented during procurement hiring and management of contracts to ensure that the environmental impacts of the project are kept to a minimum and adequately mitigated:

• Build environmental requirements and clauses based on legal requirements and international best practices into all contracts;

• IOCL has to evaluate environmental performance of the contractors on a regular basis; • Comply with vehicular standards and the Transport Management Plan; • Ensure use of suitable equipment to reduce noise and air pollution;

Air & Noise Pollution Control

The pollution to these two parameters is highly dependent on selection of equipment and machineries. Procurement of equipments and machineries with properly designed control systems can significantly reduce impacts of air and noise pollution from the machineries including the DG sets. Specifically, such controls will:



• Reduce noise and vibration emission levels of such machineries at source – for example about 25 dB (A) insertion loss will be attained by a noise enclosure installed outside the DG sets ;

• Reduce the emission of air pollutants from the DG sets and flare stacks to the extent possible;

• Ensure that the exhaust of the DG set will be constructed to sufficient height to allow dispersion of the pollutants at upper atmosphere;

• Ensure installation of a catalytic absorption device to reduce the NOx emissions; • Design the flaring system in a manner so that air and noise emissions from flare stack

are minimized and MINAS standards and the guidelines set by the CPCB on oil and gas drilling are met;

Waste and Waste Water Management

As discussed in impact assessment section in Chapter 4 earlier, the drilling project is likely to generate a considerable amount (800 MT/ each well) of drill cuttings which may be hazardous in nature. According to The Hazardous Waste Rules, IOCL has to analyze the same and establish whether the toxicity of constituents is high enough to treat the waste as hazardous. The cuttings pit to be used for on-site disposal of drill cuttings will be provided with an impervious liner/sheet (HDPE liner) to prevent seepage/leakage before starting of the drilling operations. In time of preparing the on site pit for storage of hazardous material, IOCL will strictly follow the guidelines mentioned in the CPCB Criteria for Hazardous Waste Landfills/Storage sites. Accordingly IOCL will construct a lined pit (1-1.5mm thickness) for the purpose of on-site disposal of drill cuttings to prevent any contamination of soil & groundwater. The cuttings pit after being filled up will be capped properly with an impervious liner over which a thick layer of native top-soil with proper slope shall be provided, once the drilling operations are over.

As the drill site will be taken on temporary lease basis, hence IOCL has to tie up with a properly designed TSDF site, which will be owned and operated by a Hazardous Waste Operator for safe disposal of theses wastes. Therefore, the quality of the soil in the leased land area can be retained close to its original conditions to the extent possible.

As discussed in Chapter 5, waste water from the drilling activity will primarily arise out of the following sources:

• Waste water generated from process areas and primarily comprising of rig wash water. • Sanitary waste water (Black Water) and • Domestic waste water (Grey Water)

Process and non-process wastewater will be channelized separately and treated based on levels of prevailing pollution. In addition, the storm-water drainage system will be built separately so that there will be no mixing of the same with the waste water streams. IOCL will also introduce modular Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which will be a part of the rig, to treat the sewage water before discharging it to the agricultural land or into the surface water



bodies. The treatment of domestic sewage would be in such a way that, it meet the discharge limits (Refer Table 9-1) prescribed by CPCB.

TABLE 9-1: STANDARDS FOR TREATED DOMESTIC SEWAGE DISPOSAL

SN Parameter Into inland surface waters

Into public sewers, mg/l

On land for irrigation, mg/l

1 pH 5.5-9.0 5.5-9.0 5.5-9.0 2 BOD for 5 days at 20

oC, mg/L 30 350 100

3 Chemical Oxygen Demand, mg/L

250 - -

4 Suspended Solids, mg/L

100 600 200

5 Total Dissolved Solids, mg/L

2100 2100 2100

6 Temperature, mg/L 40 45 - 7 Oil and grease, mg/L 10 20 10 8 Phenolic compounds,

mg/L 1 5 -

9 Cyanides, mg/L 0.2 2 0.2 10 Sulphides, mg/L 2 - - 11 Fluorides, mg/L 2 15 - 12 Total residual chlorine,

mg/L 1 - -

13 Pesticides, mg/L - - - 14 Arsenic, mg/L 0.2 0.2 0.02 15 Cadmium , mg/L 2 1 - 16 Chromium

(Hexavalent) , mg/L 0.2 2 -

17 Copper, mg/L 3 3 - 18 Lead, mg/L 0.1 1 - 19 Mercury , mg/L 0.01 .01 - 20 Nickel , mg/L 3 3 - 21 Selenium , mg/L .05 .05 - 22 Zinc, mg/L 5 15 - 23 Chlorides, mg/L 1000 1000 600 24 Boron, mg/L 2 2 2 25 Sulphates, mg/L 1000 1000 1000 26 Sodium ( 9%), mg/L - 60 60 27 Ammonical Nitrogen,

mg/L 50 50 -

28 Radioactive materials 10-7 10-7 10-8 29 Alpha emitters

(milicurie/ml) 10-6 10-6 10-7



The process waste water to be discharged onto the ground or in the water bodies will be ensured onshore discharge standards laid for liquid effluent from oil drilling, which is as given in Table 9-2.

TABLE 9-2: ONSHORE DISCHARGE STANDARDS FOR LIQUID EFFLUENT FROM OIL DRILLING

S. No. Parameter Onshore Discharge Standard (Not to Exceed)

1 pH value 5.5 to 9.0 2 Temperature, ºC 40.0 3 Suspended Solids, mg/l 100.0 4 Zinc, mg/l 2.0 5 BOD at 27ºC for 3 days, mg/l 30.0 6 COD, mg/l 100.0 7 Chlorides, mg/l 600.0 8 Sulphates, mg/l 1000.0 9 Total Dissolved Solids, mg/l 2100.0 10 Sodium, mg/l 60.0 11 Oil and Grease, mg/l 10.0 12 Phenolics, mg/l 1.2 13 Cyanides, mg/l 0.2 14 Fluorides, mg/l 1.5 15 Sulphides, mg/l 2.0 16 Chromium (Hexavalent) Cr+6, mg/l 0.1 17 Chromium (Total), mg/l 1.0 18 Copper, mg/l 0.2 19 Lead, mg/l 0.1 20 Mercury, mg/l 0.01 21 Nickel, mg/l 3.0

The waste water generated from the process will be intermittent and will be stored in a waste water collection pit. The characteristics of drilling and wash wastewater are dependent upon type and composition of drilling fluid to be used. IOCL is proposing to use water-based drilling mud. The drilling wastewater will contain spent drilling fluid generated as a result of washings. The wastewater may have high suspended solids, high sulphate content (if potassium sulphate-based mud is used), some oil and grease, some minimal dissolved salts and traces of heavy metals, requiring appropriate treatment before disposal so as to comply with disposal parameters.

The untreated wastewater collection pits need to be properly lined with HDPE liner (1.0 mm thickness) seated on a compacted mineral layer. It is proposed that the waste water will be analyzed for contaminants and thereafter the method of treatment be decided on a case-to-case basis. The wastewater treatment may include:



• Separation of Oil and grease in waste water using an oil trap; • Removal of solids using gravity separation; • pH correction; • Flocculation (after performing jar test for settling of finely suspended impurities); • Storage of treated wastewater in a holding/buffer pit and disposal of treated wastewater

if it conforms to the stipulated standards or repeat required treatment for the non-complying parameters or ensure dilution in case of marginal exceedances of standards.

The final configuration of wastewater treatment system can only be fixed at a later stage of well planning only after deciding the well location and procurement of the rig and at that time, IOCL will look at feasible options to keep incremental pollution load levels in receiving water bodies to a minimum.

All areas where contaminated runoff may be generated and storage areas for hazardous substances will be properly encircled and the surface will be adequately paved. Such areas will be connected by drains to the process waste water pit to channelise any spills for treatment. This will ensure that water/runoff from spilled areas does not contaminate soil and groundwater in unpaved areas.

IOCL will also introduce facilities of Septic Tank and soak pits to treat domestic sewage water thereby reducing the organic load to adjacent water bodies/drainage channels. The grey water is not supposed to be polluted and after carrying out analysis, it will be discharged, after dilution with clean water, if required.

Disturbance to Local Environment and Communities

The contractors employed for the drill site preparation will ensure that disturbance to surrounding communities because of site preparation will be minimized as far as practicable. Sufficient care will be taken not to encroach upon lands around the site or cause any disruption to farming activities that may be going on in such lands. The villagers of settlements who own the land surrounding drill sites would not be made to feel that their land is being invaded and activities will be disrupted. Any use of surrounding land, if required (for example to park machineries or vehicles) will be done after taking necessary permission from the landowner concerned.

Adequate measures will be taken to ensure that the fill material is carefully stacked in stockpiles so that it does not spread over to adjacent lands and affect its use adversely. All chemical and fuel storage would be enclosed and handled with due care to avoid accidental spills. The entire project site will be fenced off to prevent any danger to life and property.

The flaring system will be designed and installed keeping in mind the orientation of receptors such as settlement of nearby villages and schools, temples etc located within both the parts of the block. The presence of labour camps within the project site will also be taken into consideration to prevent loss of lives and minimize ground level concentrations in the site and adjoining settlements and other sensitive receptors.



9.2.2 Site Preparation Phase

As discussed in the previous chapters, this phase of site preparation will have significant impact on the landscape, soil, noise quality and the ecology unless managed properly. It will also affect the watercourses from sediment run-off, accidental spill of oil/lubricants, disposal of sewage from construction labour camps etc. The mitigation measures to be adopted during this phase are described in this section. It will be ensured that, the contractors engaged in the site preparation will understand the importance of the soil as an environmental parameter and will be aware of its conservation during the entire phase of the project lifecycle.

Top soil removal and storage

Topsoil is generally defined as the top most, fertile layer of material on the land surface which is capable of supporting plant growth. It basically contains the seed bank and is therefore an essential component of the re-vegetation programme. Therefore, maintenance of topsoil quality, particularly its structure, texture and the integrity of its seed bank are vital to both bio-restoration work and erosion control.

At the very beginning of site preparation activities, the topsoil of the land acquired for the drilling of well will be carefully stripped to its full depth and stored separately with due care given to it, as such it will neither get compacted by vehicles nor contaminated. The top soil will be stored in a manner, which will minimize its loss and/or degradation. The topsoil will not be mixed with subsoil or any other inert material during the entire drilling activity. Topsoil will be segregated and will not be mixed with spoil material before or during replacement.

Subsequently, the Topsoil will be stored in a stockpile within the site premises in a heap not more than 2m high having side slopes of < 45° and drained with open ditches. The surface of the stockpile will be lightly compacted to reduce rainfall penetration but not enough to promote anaerobic conditions. Alternatively, the stockpiles can be enclosed by use of appropriate sediment filtration devices in the form of silt fence or straw barriers and under no circumstances it can be used as padding material. The topsoil will also be handled during excessively wet conditions. The stockpiling of soil material will be protected from flooding (although this is not a very common scenario in this region), by placing berm around the site.

Padding and Fill Operation

Well padding and fill operation during the site preparation phase leads to the compaction of the soil thereby changes the soil texture in the area. Excessive compaction of the soil occurs due to heavy vehicular movement during site preparation. This can be avoided in place, where the area will be allocated for campsite development. Additionally, care will be taken during stockpiling of fill material at the site, as such, it will not spread out in the nearby adjacent village land and affect the activities.



Air & Noise Pollution Control

During this phase, fugitive dust and vehicular movement is the main source of air pollution. IOCL will ensure that the Contractors employed for site preparation will carry out proper storage and handling of spoil, sub-soils, top-soils and all the solid powdery raw materials to minimize the risk associated with wind blown material and dust. If possible all loose heaps of materials will be covered by polythene sheets. In addition, separate procedures and work instruction will be followed for all activities that may generate fugitive dust. All loading and unloading activities at the site and at the storage facilities shall be carried out in a closed manner to the extent possible. Dry cement handling is likely to be done in enclosed manner to the extent possible. It will be ensured that lids of all containers containing volatile substances/chemicals are properly fitted.

Besides handling air pollution in the area, IOCL will make sure that, all the equipment, machineries and vehicles used at the site will comply with the air and noise emission standards stipulated by regulatory Authority.

Any new vehicles purchased for the purpose of the project will conform to the Bharat Stage II standards. Existing vehicles that will be used for the project will have a Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) issued by a recognized testing agency. All vehicles employed for the project will comply with statutory vehicle limits (width, height, loading, gross weight) and any other statutory requirement.

Waste Management

As described earlier, all wastes generated during this phase will be managed in accordance with the Waste Management Plan, prepared specifically for this site. The hazardous wastes (spent oil and grease, paint drums, asbestos contaminated material etc), generated during this phase, will be temporarily stored in a pit (lined with HDPE) and then will be transferred to the TSDF site near to the acquired block.

Disturbance and Nuisance

During the site preparation phase, some kind of damage to common property or village resources like telephone lines, underground water pipelines and overhead electric wires may take place during the transportation of heavy machineries and equipment and from truck movement. Immediate restoration and rectification of those damages needs to be carried out by IOCL in case of those damages.

The behaviour of labourers towards the village people is also need to be controlled and regulated by the Contractor to the extent possible. IOCL has decided to formulate some action plan in regards to this mentioning the ‘do’s and ‘don’ts to be followed by the labourers.



9.2.3 Drilling and Testing Phase

Air and Noise Quality

Impacts of drilling activities will affect the surrounding air and noise quality, thereby affecting the receptors residing in the villages within the block, if not managed properly. The noise impacts emerged as an added concern in the assessment section, as even with proper control measures, the noise emissions were far higher than the standards prescribed in the noise rules. Though the impacts will be of short duration, IOCL needs to adopt a systematic approach to manage these impacts to the extent possible. It shall be ensured that sufficient engineering controls (eg. mufflers) are installed to reduce noise levels at source for vehicles and machinery.

In addition to the measures taken during the design and planning phase, further mitigation of these impacts can be achieved through management practices and some of the key measures that can be taken up during the drilling phase are laid down below:

• All noise generating operations, except drilling (as drilling has to be carried out continuously) will be restricted to daytime unless an emergency situation arises at the drill site;

• All air and noise emitting machines will be subjected to preventive maintenance. Additionally, if any pollutions/emissions are reported from any particular machineries/equipments, the person-in-charge will take immediate action to rectify the same;

• Provide Personnel Protective Equipments (PPEs) like ear plugs/muffs to all workers who are supposed to work in high noise areas and provide them adequate training in using the same;

• Preventive maintenance of vehicles and machinery to be undertaken as and when required;

• Ensure that, all containers containing Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOC) and fuel oil will be capped properly, as such it will not cause air pollution;

• Carry out water spraying on the access roads and dusty areas within the site at regular intervals to control windblown and re-entrained dust during dry season;

Waste and Waste Water

The major wastes generated during this phase of project activity will be drill cuttings and spent mud, both of which are hazardous in nature. These wastes will be handled by strictly following the waste management plan of IOCL with certain changes required specifically for this particular region. The waste handling operation will be given to Authorized dealer to ensure that, hazardous wastes are not spilled during loading, unloading or operation. In case of any such incidents, immediate actions will be taken by IOCL’s team. The total waste storage at the site will be kept to the minimum and regular transfer of hazardous waste to nearby TSDF site will be undertaken.



The other types of wastes generated at site will be handled as follows:

• Domestic Organic Waste: The garbage generated from campsite will be disposed on site into a waste pit and can be sent to septic tank. Proper collection and storage of domestic waste from the camp site will be ensured. Alternatively, the feasibility of onsite composting of organic waste will be examined;

• It is proposed that any medical waste generated will be properly segregated using the criteria specified by the Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules and disposed accordingly as per the stipulated standards;

• Waste sludge produced during treatment of waste water will be stored and disposed on-site in a well-designed pit lined with HDPE of thickness 1-1.5mm and finally disposed off to a TSDF site;

• All temporary waste storage area within the site will have proper bunds to prevent any escape of contaminated runoff. It shall be ensured that any runoff from such temporary storage area will be channelized into the waste-water pit, adequately treated and discharged into the nearby drainage channel complying with the regulatory requirements;

• Waste Oil and lubricants generated in the drilling process will be sent to authorized recyclers;

• Other Domestic wastes like paper and office stationery will be given off to a kabadiwala (waste dealer);

• All spent lead acid batteries will be sent to authorized waste dealers for recycling; • IOCL will carry out necessary inspection and will maintain documentation of regular

waste management facilities and will made the waste management system operational at the site;

• The treatment of waste water would be in such a way that, it meet the discharge limits (Refer Table 9-1) prescribed by CPCB all the time;

• If in case, the treated effluent does not meet the standard specified for discharge onto the ground or surface water, adequate dilution of clean water is to be ensured before final disposal;

9.2.4 Site Decommissioning and Closure

The activities at this stage are very similar to that of site preparation phase; hence the same mitigation measures can be adopted during this phase also. The most important activity at this stage will be restoration of the site to its original conditions along with the original land use to the extent possible.

After the completion of drilling and the dismantling and removal of all drilling equipment from site, and leveling of soil to preexisting contours, topsoil will be reinstated to a sufficient extent in order to allow the affected area to be returned to its original conditions along with its original productivity.



The top soil, which was segregated separately during the site preparation without mixing with spoil material, will be re-spread over the surface. Once the disturbed areas have been restored to its original level and compacted, top soil will be redistributed over the whole disturbed surface and the whole disturbed areas will be subject to final grading. Adequate measures will be taken to ensure that, the disturbed areas remain in rough condition, to protect the stability of top soil after its restoration.

9.2.5 Transportation Management

This is an important part of the overall project management, for which IOCL has prepared a detailed traffic management plan taking into account necessary safeguard measures to mitigate air and noise pollution, traffic congestion due to continuous vehicular movement in the area etc. The drilling project would involve trucking of about 20-25 truck loads of rig and related equipment to and from site during the site preparation and around 50 truck loads during closure activities. Transportation would also involve bringing in soil / stone from quarries, raw material and supplies for drilling; transportation of chemicals and other materials from nearby warehouse to the drill site and movement of workers and personnel. This will require availability of approach roads connecting the State Highways to the site.

Although the exact well locations have not yet been finalized, the wells will be strictly confined within both the parts of the block. The village roads within the acquired exploratory block as well as the connecting roads to the State Highways are well developed in the region; hence no separate road construction is envisaged at this stage. However, in due course of time (once the exact well locations are finalized), the existing approach roads or village roads can be upgraded as per the requirement.

Upgradation of rural approach roads

In case, the proposed drilling activity demands any upgradation of existing project approach roads or rural roads, the upgradation would involve the following measures to be taken by the Road Contractor appointed by IOCL to ensure that environmental/social impacts arising from such activities will be prevented and/or mitigated.

• Prior official clearance to be taken for cutting of trees and will have to compensate the tree loss with replanting and landscaping;

• Avoid clearing vegetation beyond right-of-ways; • Procurement of machinery that conforms to emission standards; • Provide safety equipment for workers; • Dispose of or store waste and debris generated during road construction, and possibly

reuse; • Strip and store topsoil to mitigate loss; • Reduce emissions by covering trucks with tarpaulin during transport; • Use dust suppressants like water to control particulates emission in air during dry

season;



All transportation work undertaken will be conducted in compliance with the environmental laws and relevant regulations as well as with standards and best practices generally prevailing in India.

Material Transport

The following cares has to be taken during material transport handling:

• The haul routes for transportation of materials, spoils and machineries will be determined prior to commencement of site preparation;

• Vehicle transporting materials will not be over loaded and loose materials shall be covered during transportation;

• Dry, unpaved areas and approach roads to be regularly sprinkled with water to prevent fugitive emission during vehicular transport;

• The movement of heavy vehicles shall be restricted within the site and within designated areas along with the area earmarked for parking of Lorries at the site;

• All vehicular movements for hauling of borrow and fill materials as well as for transport of spoils and debris shall be undertaken during daytime only;

• Preventive maintenance of vehicles shall be regularly undertaken as and when required; • All vehicles carrying hazardous materials will be properly labeled in accordance with

the specifications of the Motor Vehicles Rules;

Traffic Control and Management

Key access routes to the drill site will be determined prior to commencement of site preparation or any other major activities requiring movement of heavy vehicles and will be discussed with stakeholders, including government administration, as part of the consultation process. Liaison with the local police and highway authorities in the respective stretches will be carried out and prior information will be given to these departments regarding the movement of any abnormal loads, particularly the rig.

Other measures for mitigating the impacts arising from the use of access road are as follows:

• The route of access roads, other infrastructure, refueling stations, service stations etc. to be used for transportation will be selected such that they take into account bio-physical and socio-economic considerations;

• Access routes to be used by traffic will be properly marked to prevent vehicles from leaving the designated routes and ensure that the appropriate speed limits are enforced particularly through the residential areas within the villages near the drill site;

• Measures to prevent damage to public roads will be taken, to the extent feasible; • At least a day of advance notice will be given to nearby residents for any proposed road

diversions and/or closures, if required at all for proposed drilling activities; • Traffic flows will be timed, wherever practically possible, to avoid periods of heavy

traffic flow along main roads;



• Movement of project related traffic during night-time will be restricted to the extent possible;

• Clear signs and signals will be set up where necessary; • Access to adjacent commercial facilities and residential properties will be maintained

and speed limits will be established and enforced for vehicles being used for project related transportation on all traffic routes;

• The vehicle load will be minimized on the road stretches, used by children to reach schools within the villages during the hours that children travel to and from school;

• Fencing will be provided around the schools within the villages (if located near to the drill sites) to the extent possible;

• Speed breakers will be installed on the roads, to control the speed of vehicles moving on the road;

9.2.6 Social Management

The social management plan has been designed to take proactive steps and adopt best practices, which are specific to the socio-cultural setting of the region. This section outlines appropriate mitigative measures to the potential socio-economic impacts identified. The following mitigative measures will be included:

Providing Job Opportunities and training:

During site construction approximately 35 to 40 workmen are likely to be involved. Most of the people employed during the stage would be semi-skilled. People from adjoining areas would be given preference according to the skill sets possessed.

Ensuring Public Safety

The project site is surrounded by sensitive receptors like settlements, markets, schools etc. Since the project involves the movement of heavy vehicles and machineries in the area, the issue of public safety of the villagers, especially children, is an important concern. During the drilling phase and for the rest of the project activities, proper safety measures will be undertaken during transportation as well as in the other operations. The drill site would be fenced properly and IOCL will be intimated the villagers well before the staring of construction work. Additionally, as safety measure boundary walls or proper fencing and gates would be constructed around the schools at close proximity to the drill site, so that the children will not be able to go near to the drill site.

The movement of traffic is also likely to disrupt access conditions of the inhabitants residing close to the approach road. The increase in traffic would have implications on their safety too, as well as may create congestion, potential delays and inconvenience for pedestrians. The mitigative measures in this regard have been discussed in detail under the Transport Management Plan (Section 9.2.5).



Mitigation of Noise Impacts at Sensitive Receptors

Drilling activity and increase in vehicular movement is likely to increase the noise level in the surrounding villages in and around the drill site within the acquired block. Higher noise levels are also likely to be perceived by the inhabitants residing in the labour camps or nearby pota cabins.

Considering this, IOCL will ensure that minimum noise is emitted, by using better acoustic protection (less noise producing) in machineries and generators. Barriers will also be created on the periphery of the site to reduce the spread of noise to the extent possible. Wherever possible, the noise generating equipments will be placed away from the villages. These management measures are predicted to reduce noise levels.

In addition regular preventive maintenance of vehicle and machinery has already been proposed. Movement of vehicles during nighttime will also be restricted. Continued interactions will be conducted with the villagers during the entire period of project activity to incorporate feasible solution in activity scheduling.

Community Interactions and Conflicts

Since the workers camp will be located very close to the villages within the acquired block, various issues like conflict of workers with the local population, safety and privacy issues of the women in the surrounding villages, spread of various communicable diseases, nuisance caused by workers due to improper sanitation facilities etc. may arise. Here comes, the need for proper education and necessary lessons to the workers. A brochure may be circulated amongst all workers specifically stating the ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ and requesting proper behavioral actions and discipline amenable with the local customs and traditions during their stay in the camp.

Common Property Resources

During the project tenure there might be some sharing of resources by the villagers and the IOCL workers. The movement of heavy vehicles and machineries might lead to disruption of electric wires and telephone wires in the site area and along transportation routes, destruction of roads or bridges etc. As a part of the mitigative measures, these utilities will be restored back to normal conditions, at the earliest. IOCL will immediately take responsive action to re-construct the roads or bridges, damaged by them.

Fencing of the site for safety purpose may sometimes lead to the temporary loss of shortest foot track routes for the villagers to their agricultural fields. Consultation with villagers will be carried out in such cases to assist them in finding alternative foot track routes.

9.2.7 Occupational Health Surveillance Programmes for employees and labourers

IOCL will provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. The following steps will be taken as part of the occupational health surveillance programme:



• Regular health check up of drilling crews will be carried out as the crews are engaged in continuous drilling operation;

• Job rotation for the workers and labour force will be ensured for twice a day (12 hrs shift), as such the labourers get sufficient rest;

• Workers engaged in high noise exposed area will be provided with ear plugs, ear muffs etc, to avoid Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) problems;

• IOCL will provide sufficient food and drinking water supply to their workers, so as to avoid any kind of health impact;

• IOCL have to try to eliminate or reduce hazards first by making changes in working conditions rather than just relying on masks, gloves, ear plugs or other types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs);

• IOCL will inform its employees prior to the starting of drilling work about hazards through training, labels, alarms, color-coded systems etc;

• Additionally, IOCL has its own EHS policies, compliance with which is likely to be maintained during the entire project lifecycle;



10.0 Summary & Conclusion

The exploration block CB-ONN-2005/2 has been awarded to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) through Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for carrying out onshore exploration, which involves two phases. The initial phase was 3D seismic survey of the whole block of 77.68 sq.km area. On the basis of the interpretation of the seismic survey, drilling of four wells will be carried out to the depth of 3400m. As discussed in legal chapter, required regulatory approval for petroleum exploration has already been received in the form of Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) from Government of Gujarat and Government of India respectively.

As per the provisions of the PSC, IOCL would carry out exploration in two phases, in which first phase involves 3D seismic survey programme for entire block of 77.68 sq.km and drilling of four exploration wells to the depth of 3400m each, reprocessing of 570 LKM and magneto telluric of 250 stations, where as the second phase will comprise of drilling of one exploration well to the depth of 3400m. 3D seismic survey is exempted from Environmental Clearance, where as the exploratory drilling of wells demand Environmental Clearance after carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment Study.

An Environment Impact Assessment (REIA) study report has been prepared for this exploratory drilling project based on existing baseline environmental quality data collected for pre monsoon season for the entire block; Identification and prediction of significant environmental impacts due to the proposed exploratory drilling process followed by delineation of appropriate impact mitigation measures and suggestion for implementing this measures by preparing an Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

The proposed project of exploratory drilling intends to ensure whether the acquired block have potential for future production of oil and gas in sufficient quantity. The drilling and associated activities, required to be carried out, will be done in an environmentally sound manner to the extent possible and would not have any adverse effects on the natural environment of the surrounding area.

10.1 SALIENT FEATURES OF THE PROJECT

The salient features of the project are discussed below:

TABLE 10-1: SALIENT FEATURES OF THE PROJECT

Well Locations : Yet to identify, however strictly confined within the Block CB-ONN-2005/2

Depth of well : 3400 m

Commencement of drilling : September 2011

Activities Involved : Temporary land leasing, Site & access road preparation, drilling of well, well testing,



decommissioning & closure of well

Area required : 120m x 100m

Total estimated drilling period : 90-120 days/ well

Total Estimated Testing Period : 20 - 25 days/ well

Proposed Drilling Fluid : Water Based Mud

Estimated truck load : Approximately 20-25

Manpower Requirement : During site preparation: 30-35

During drilling: 40

Water Requirement : During site preparation- 10-12 KLD

During drilling – 35-40 KLD

Rig Capacity : 1200-1500 HP

DG Set back up : 4 DG sets of 500 KVA for drilling rig

1 DG set of 100 KVA for labour camp

HSD Requirement : 5-6 KLD

Waste from drilling process : 800 MT of drill cuttings per well

Domestic waste from labour camp : 16 kg/day

10.2 OVERALL JUSTIFICATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT

The exploratory drilling of well is a process of evaluating the potential of the area in terms of oil and gas production. Additionally, historical background of the area also shows that, the area is a significant source of oil and gas exploration. The implementation of this drilling activity will further ensure the accuracy of the same.

10.3 CONCLUSIONS

During the environmental assessment study, all possible environmental aspects have been adequately addressed and necessary control measures have been suggested to meet with statutory requirements.

The proposed exploratory drilling project will contribute to economic growth in indirect way and may help in meeting the increasing demands of oil and gas if proved to be economically beneficial for future production.



11.0 Disclosure of Consultants

The names of the consultants engaged and the brief resume of the key personnel are furnished below.

11.1 SENES CONSULTANTS LIMITED

SENES, an acronym for Specialists in Energy, Nuclear and Environmental Sciences is a wholly Canadian employee-owned company, incorporated in 1980 in the Province of Ontario, Canada. During its 25 years in business, SENES has participated in over 5,000 projects in Canada and internationally. SENES has extensive international experience working with people from different cultures and languages and has successfully worked in more than 50 countries outside of North America.

SENES' principal areas of services are: environmental and social assessments, environmental management systems; environmental monitoring; health safety and risk assessments; nuclear, solid and hazardous waste management; emergency response planning; auditing; permitting; institutional strengthening, public consultation, training and education. The firm's clients include regulatory agencies from all levels of government, municipalities, public-interest groups, industries, international financial institutions, associations and public organizations.

As one of Canada’s premier environmental consulting firms, SENES is trusted by our clients to provide them with cost effective, expert yet practical advice addressing their range of environmental challenges. SENES projects have ranged from the provision of individual expert advice through to the development and management of multidisciplinary environmental projects.

SENES Consultants India Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of SENES Consultants Limited, which is a wholly owned Canadian company. SENES India has been operational in India for the last five years and has its head office in Delhi with branch offices in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai and has all supporting infrastructure for project implementation including GIS lab in New Delhi office and software development centre in Kolkata office.

SENES has extensive experience working with international aid and governmental agencies including: the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), The World Bank, European Development Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations office at Geneva, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (Guyana EPA), Guyana Ministry of Public Works and Communications, Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Planning and Development, Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority, and St. Christopher Solid Waste Management Corporation.



The technical resources within SENES include many engineering disciplines, physical and natural sciences, mathematics, statistics, and computer sciences. One of our strengths is our desire to continually build upon our abilities in our areas of technical expertise, providing exceptional knowledge and insight into our clients needs. This concentrated technical effort is looked upon favorably by our clients that continually uses our services and retain us as technical experts.

11.2 SENES CAPABILITY

We feel that with our multidisciplinary team combined with expertise in carrying out EIA’s in India and worldwide, SENES India would be in an excellent position to implement a project of this kind. Our mix of management, scientific, engineering and field staff allows us to provide fully integrated services from initial assessment and problem definition, engineering design, implementation of remedial action and performance verification. The business philosophy of the firm is to provide an exceptional level of service to our clients while ensuring that our common interest in preserving the environment is enhanced.

Following are some of our key strengths, which we think, uniquely qualify us for this proposed project:

SENES and its team members have extensive experience of carrying out EIAs and defending them with regulatory agencies around the world;

SENES India is presently involved in EIAs for more than 200 projects (in different sectors) all across the country:



Our proposed Team for this project bring with them multidisciplinary skill sets and relevant experience required for undertaking this project level EIA for proposed project.

SENES uses the services of reputed laboratory for primary monitoring and analysis. However, the final decision is taken based on discussion with clients.

11.2.1 Brief CVs of the Personnel for the EIA Study

Mangesh Dakhore - Mangesh Dakhore is an EIA expert qualified in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, with more than ten years of working experience both in an advisory as well as implementation role. He has experience of evaluation and implementation of environmental and social impacts and plans of major development projects. He has an excellent appreciation of concerns of communities, NGOs, regulators on environmental issues and demonstrated capability in negotiation with stakeholders for relevant approvals and for fair and reasonable outcomes. He has a strong ability to develop material, organize and deliver information and presentations to abroad range of stakeholder groups. He has lead preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) studies for seeking regulatory approvals and ensuring compliance and consistency with Corporate Environment and Sustainability Standards. His consulting experience involved provided advisory services on Institutional reforms for National-level Environmental Clearance process and Environmental planning of largescale projects in energy, transport, industrial manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. During his initial career, he has also gained a good exposure to industrial manufacturing activities and processes.

Dr. Manoj Mishra - Dr. Mishra has over 9 years of experience in the field of Air Quality Monitoring and Modelling. He holds a M. Tech. degree in Atmospheric Sciences and has done doctorate in the area of Air Quality Modelling and Meteorology from IIT, Delhi. He has developed an analytical coastal regulatory dispersion model (published in 2005) to assess air quality in a coastal environment under a project sponsored by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Besides this, he is well versed with the various available EPA approved regulatory models used for air quality impact assessment from different sources located either on land or costal areas. He has modified US developed weather generator model (WGEN) to make it more suitable for Indian meteorological conditions. He represented IIT-Delhi in Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer (CABL) field experiment campaign at Kalpakkam in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (B.A.R.C), Bombay and the Institute of Meteorology and Physics, University of Agriculture, Forestry and Renewable Resources, Vienna, Austria. He has participated in many symposias on air quality modelling and management.

Kankana Das - Kankana Das is a Post Graduate in Environment Management (PGD EnvM) from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Kolkata. Kankana is presently working for the ESRM team of SENES Consultants for the Environmental Impact Assessment study for various sectors of construction and oil & gas sectors. She specializes in



Baseline Data Analysis, Impact Assessment and Environment Management Plan for various development and construction projects.

She has worked as a Project Coordinator for various projects which includes preparation of EIA Reports for Kushinagar airport, Cambay basin oil & gas exploration study, various construction projects like Jaypee Ganga land parcel development project, Vatika Infotech city (Jaipur), Suncity Township(Jaipur), Suncity SEZ (Haryana), Azamgarh medical college etc.

Neha Natani – She has done her Post Graduation from G.G.S.I.P. University, Delhi in Environment Management. She has recently joined SENES as Jr. Environmental Specialist and is working in the E&RSM team. Earlier she has worked in Cairn Energy as a Trainee for a period of 6 months.

Annexures EIA Report for Exploratory Drilling- Cambay Basin

SENES/D-20308/November 2010 IOCL A-1

Annexure-I Terms of Reference









Annexure-II Pre-Feasibility Report



Annexure-III QCI Receipt





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