Natural gas at shallow depth in the placer sands of Amalapuramcoast, east Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh

摘要

A new find of natural gas within the silty layer at shallow depth of 7.5 meters at Krishna Godavari basin, Andhra Pradesh, India, about 1.6 kms away from the coast has been reported. Analysis of the natural gas indicates that it is (marshy) biogenic and contains high percentage of methane (75-86%) as like the natural gas sites at Krishna-Godavari basins. The morpho-tectonic evolution of the Krishna-Godavari basin has many coast parallel faults and the fault traces on the surface are manifested by beach ridges and at places lined by backwaters. Abrupt turns in the course of the Godavari River and also the backwaters, variation in sand lithology, and transection of the sand dunes by the backwaters are evidences of neotectonics. The reported gas-emanating boreholes are close and parallel to this fault. The shallow depth of the availability of natural gas in this area provides openings for the small and independent domestic operators for drilling.