Environmental activists, politicians oppose oil well plan off Tamil Nadu coast

MAYILADUTHURAI: A proposal by the private company Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc. to drill five new development and production wells in the existing PY-3 oil field, covering 81 sq km in the offshore Cauvery Basin off the Mayiladuthurai coast, is facing a strong backlash from environmental activists and politicians.

They fear drilling will take a toll on the marine ecosystem and fishing livelihoods, and urged the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) not to approve the project.

Sources said the company on August 14 submitted an application to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change seeking terms of reference to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for the proposed project to establish five new hydrocarbon wells in the CRZ-IVA zone, in accordance with the EIA Notification 2006 and its subsequent amendments.

The Anti-Methane Project Federation coordinator, Prof T Jayaraman, condemned the proposal saying the project would severely affect fishermen’s livelihoods and that toxic chemical waste discharged from the wells and seismic surveys to be carried out as part of exploration would damage the sensory systems of fish and eventually destroy fish resources.

Speaking to the TNIE, he claimed that groundwater would be extracted along with oil and gas, causing continued depletion of groundwater levels. Environmental organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal told TNIE that offshore hydrocarbon drilling could pose a major threat to marine organisms, destroy natural resources in the sea and seriously affect fishermen’s livelihood.

Poovulagin Nanbargal said the application for environmental clearance was currently under consideration by the union government’s expert appraisal committee. Since the project site falls within the CRZ-IVA zone, a recommendation from the TNSCZMA is also required, it said, urging it not to recommend the project.

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, in a post on X, said the existing oil wells in the area had already caused environmental damage and that additional wells could cause damage on an “incalculable scale”. Ramadoss said that ONGC established oil and gas wells off the Mayiladuthurai coast in 1997, after which US-based Hardy Exploration & Production maintained them through a joint venture with ONGC.

PY-3 resumed production last year with 4,100 barrels per day, which is expected to rise to approx 7,500 barrels per day by FY 2028-29, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had posted on X last year.