Birthplace of Indian Oil & Gas Industry and Future Business Hub – Northeast India

The earliest recorded references to the traces of oil in North-East India can be found in the Army officers’ memoir. Lt. R Wilcox of the 46^th Regiment Native Infantry, in 1825, makes a special mention of oil “rising to the surface” at Supkhong; an area 25 miles east of Digboi. He writes, “The jungles are full of an odour of petroleum”.

In November 1866, the systematic process of drilling began, the first ever in the region, after a large tract of land was secured on both sides of the Buri-Dihing river. The first two wells came up dry with some traces of gas. On 26^th March 1867, about eight miles from Digboi, oil was collected from Asia’s first mechanically drilled well.

This series of events motivated the Assam Oil Company to expedite its efforts in securing more oil fields in the region. In 1889, India’s 1^st commercially successful crude oil well was drilled at Digboi, Assam, where the first gush of Oil was struck on 19^thOctober, 1889.From the colloquial cry of the Canadian drillers, “Dig Boy, Dig”, the settlement got its name Digboi. Crude oil discovery at Digboi is also the 1^st discovery of crude oil in Asia and 2^nd in the world after discovery in Pennsylvania in 1859.Subsequently, a need to establish a bigger refinery was felt. Thus, the famous and the first in Asia, Digboi Refinery was commissioned by Assam Oil Company on 11^th December 1901. The refinery is still under operation and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural gas announced an expansion of this refinery during the Northeast Investor’s meet organised at Guwahati by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 21^stSeptember, 2021.

By 1921, the Burmah Oil Company took over the India Oil & Gas Exploration and Production scenario, bringing with it much-needed capital and expertise. To further expedite exploration, Oil India Private Limited was formed in 1959, a partnership between BOC, AOC, and the Government of India. In 1961, Oil India Limited (OIL), a Joint Venture between the BOC and the Government of India was formed, where both were equal partners and finally OIL was fully nationalised on 14^thOctober, 1981.

After the First oil discovery in independent India in the Naharkatiya field during mid-1953 and Moran field in 1959, the necessity of construction of a cross-country pipeline was felt and Burmah Oil Company undertook the construction of a 1,157-kilometre-long crude oil pipeline from Naharkatiya in upper Assam to Barauni in Bihar for transporting the excess oil discovered from new fields. Thus, the birth of India’s Pipeline industry started from the Northeast itself with the commissioning of this pipeline in two phases in 1962 and 1964, which was also the first cross-country pipeline in Asia at that period. The uniqueness of the pipeline not only just lay in its length but also in the fact that it had a fully automated operating system with sophisticated communication & telemetry system with leak detection technology and a cathodic protection system. A pipeline operating as a lifeline for Northeast Refineries also transports crude oil from ONGC’s upper Assam fields till date since August,1968.

Amongst many other firsts attributed to the North-Eastern Region, the world’s first Crude Oil Conditioning Plant was commissioned in Naharkatiya in 1963 for the trunk pipeline of OIL. The Guwahati-Siliguri Product Pipeline was commissioned in the same ROWas OIL’s pipeline in1964. Also, the country’s first Public Sector Refinery – The Guwahati Refinery has been serving the nation since 1962, and was inaugurated by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehruon January 1, 1962.The first-ever gas transportation business was also started in this region in 1967 by Assam Gas Company Limited. Subsequently, the Bongaigaon and Numaligarh Refinery emerged in the North-Eastern Region in 1979 and 1999 respectively, fed by the same Pipeline of Oil India Limited laid in the 1960s.

From a glorious past to a flourishing future; The Oil and Gas potential in the Northeastern Region has grown since and the region contributes 13% and 16% to India’s crude oil and natural gas production respectively. At present, out of the 26 sedimentary basins in the country, the 2 major Category-I basins - the Upper Assam Shelf and Assam-ArakanFold belt,fall inthe north-eastern region,with hydrocarbon reserves of 7.6 BTOE, which is 18% of the country's oil & gas resources.

Despite the decades past, the hydrocarbon potential in the northeast is immense. What has been discovered is nothing but a mere droplet in the ocean of opportunities that lie ahead as only 2.0 BTOE has been discovered so far against total available reserves of 7.6 BTOE.

Realising the same, many efforts have been undertaken by the Government of India to unleash its potential. Under the vision of the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the “Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for Northeast India”document was released by the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 9^thFebruary, 2016 for the socio-economic development of the region by leveraging the region’s hydrocarbon potential, enhance access to clean fuels, improve the availability of petroleum products, facilitate economic development and to link common people to the economic activities in this sector. Thrust areas in the vision document are exploring hydrocarbon linkages and trade opportunities with India’s neighbours; implementation of ‘Make in India’ in the region; development of health & medical facilities; industrial policy & infrastructure related action points; skill development; and employment generation requirement in the region.

A Skill Development Institute has already been set up at North Guwahati, under the aegis of MoPNG, for training the youth of the Northeast. Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) is also coming up for NER at North Guwahati, to be operated by Oil India Ltd in partnership with the Transport Department of the Government of Assam and Ashoka Leyland, which will immensely benefit the youth of the region.

Other major developments taking place in the region are construction of the 1,656 km natural gas grid by Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited, which will connect the capitals of all the eight North-eastern states;the Urja Ganga National Gas Grid being brought up to Guwahati by GAIL India Limited, to be further extended by IGGL to NE States; massive expansion project of Numaligarh, followed with the construction of Paradip-Numaligarh crude oil pipeline, first Bio Refinery in northeast is nearing completion at Numaligarh; Brahmaputra Crackers and Polymers Limited implementing the prestigious Assam Gas Cracker project, the first-ever Petrochemical project in Northeast India dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister; ONGC Tripura Power Company commissioning the biggest gas-based power plant in the North Eastern region having capacity of 726.6 MW; City Gas Distribution network expansion at a fast pace; Assam Gas Company Ltd. with CGD networks in 7 districts of Assam; Purba Bharati Gas Pvt Ltd allotment in Assam; Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited allotment in Tripura; Adani Total Gas Ltd allotment in Assam; and a few others,.

An area that was once a mystery due to lack of connectivity has also witnessed several infrastructure projects. The Bogibeel railroad bridge, India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Airports in Gangtok and Tezu ,Railway and Hydro-Power Projects, and many others are testament to that.

These projects will change the outlook of the entire North-Eastern Region and the Northeast would become the future business hub for the country.

It should be noted that the glory of the northeastern region does not end here. It has two UNESCO heritage sites Manas National Park and Kaziranga National Park. Majuli, Deepor Beel in Assam, Apatani Cultural Landscape and Thembang Fortified village in Arunachal Pradesh, and others are some of the marvels. North-Eastern India with seven contiguous states, and the Himalayan state of Sikkim, is known for its rare and virgin beauty. Each state has its unique culture and heritage and is home to diverse flora and fauna and unique yet hospitable terrains.

The North-Eastern Region has a true blend of Natural Beauty and Natural Resources, and with its huge talent pool, plays a key role in India’s development. With the right stimulus, the region will contribute significantly towards the energy independence of the country creating an “Atmanibhar Bharat”. But all of it must be done while preserving the rich biodiversity of the region.

It is time to put North-East First, a region that has given the nation so many firsts.