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Chapter 16

Natural resources

P. C. BANDOPADHYAY1*, BISWAJIT GHOSH1 & A. CARTER2

1
Department of Geology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata-700019, India
2
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
*Correspondence: hiyabando@yahoo.co.uk

Abstract: The natural resources of the Andaman –Nicobar Islands and surrounding seas are discussed. Rocks and minerals
found on the Andaman Islands include magnetite, pyrite-chalcopyrite, chromite, gold, nickel, sulphur, coal and limestone,
but in most cases their concentrations are sub-economic. Lensoid bodies of algal-biohermal limestones of Palaeogene age
on Middle Andaman Island are abundant, accessible and of good grade for cement or foundry work. The Neogene limestones
are also suitable for this purpose. Basalts and strongly indurated sedimentary rocks, without any overburden, are quarried for
construction work. Limited offshore exploration for oil and natural gas shows great promise, but has yet to be developed.

This chapter examines the natural resources of the Andaman –
Nicobar Islands. The earliest recorded evidence of the search
for economic minerals can be traced back to Mallet (1884)
who documented Cu-, Fe-, Cr- and Pt-bearing rocks on
South Andaman and Rutland islands, but he concluded that
none of the occurrences had economic value. Boileau (1950)
was perhaps the first to draw attention to the occurrence of
oil and/or gas on Baratang Island based on the examination
of the liquid mud, gas and brownish oily substances issued
by the mud volcano, but no effort was made to follow this
up. Records show that there was no sustained systematic effort
to search for minerals, oil and gas prior to Indian indepen-
dence. Post-independence investigations, initiated during the
early 1960s, included the start of a programme of mineral sur-
veys by the Geological Survey of India and exploration for oil
and gas by the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC). Mineral exploration, which involved geological
mapping, geophysical and geochemical surveys and explor-
atory drilling, identified occurrences of magnetite, chromite,
nickel, gold and sulphides, the platinum group of elements
(PGE), coal, gypsum and limestone. Exploration for oil and
gas in the Andaman Sea to the east of the Andaman –Nicobar
Islands began in earnest in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The
seismic data and pilot wells revealed a structurally and tecton-
ically complex region that contains many of the elements for
successful hydrocarbon exploration, but no commercial dis-
coveries were made. Since that time there has been wide inter-
est but limited new exploration, partly due to international
investors being put off by the country’s heavy regulations
and red tape. The following sections provide further details
of the natural resources.
Limestone
Miocene-Pliocene bioclastic limestones are relatively unde-
formed and mainly found on the islands of Ritchie’s Archipel-
ago, especially on Long and Guitar islands (Fig. 16.1).
Bandyopadhyaya et al. (1973) mentioned that limestone sam-
ples from the Guitar and Oyster islands of Ritchie’s Archipel-
ago contain 50.65 and 53.20 wt% CaO, respectively. They also
reported that a few samples from Henry Lawrence, John Law-
rence, South Button and Havelock islands (also of Ritchie’s
Archipelago) show 25.19– 50 wt% CaO with 3.17– 40.67
wt% insoluble and 33.46 wt% with 27.15 wt% insoluble.
The limestone on Interview Island is considered to be the
most favourable for exploitation.
Limestone blocks
The limestones of pre-ophiolite age occur as boulders and
blocks and vary in size from .1 to 4 m in length and 0.5 to
2 m in width. Scattered across low-lying ground, these blocks
are found around Sippighat near Port Blair on South Andaman
Island (Fig. 16.2). The limestone blocks are strongly indurated
and extensively chertified. They are made up of coarsely crys-
talline calcite showing interlocking mosaic, and the calcite
grains show strain-shadow extinction. On fresh surfaces the
limestones are light pink in colour. The resistant cherty mate-
rial in the form of veins and stringers in the limestones consists
of stretched and recrystallized quartz, calcite and opaque
oxides. The flattened quartz shows sutured grain contacts
and undulose extinction, resembling metamorphic chert.
There is no mud matrix as has been observed in Figure 8.2f
in Chapter 8 (Mithakhari deposits). These blocks are of little
economic value, but are of interest to researchers investigating
the geological history of Andaman Islands.

The oldest limestones occur as: (1) blocks within the chaotic Palaeogene limestones of the Tugapur Limestone Member
terrane composed of dismembered and deformed units of ultra- Middle Andaman
mafics, basalts and thinly bedded chert, jasper/mudstones,
metasedimentary rocks of pre-ophiolite age; and (2) within Among the shallow-water carbonate build-ups associated with
the sedimentary rocks of the Palaeogene Mithakhari Mélange the late Paleocene –Eocene Mithakhari Mélange (see Chapter
(Bandopadhyay 2012). The most extensive outcrops are late 8 for details), a number of occurrences could have economic
Paleocene shallow-water algal-foraminiferal reef limestones potential. Several lensoid and folded bodies of carbonate
found in Middle Andaman (Fig. 16.1). These limestones are build-ups with clear contacts with sandstone units occur
deformed and show antiformal and synformal structures between Mayabandar and Ranget on Middle Andaman Island
affected by faulting. By contrast the younger well-bedded (Fig. 16.1). Based on drilling in the Burma Dera sector situated
From: Bandopadhyay, P. C. & Carter, A. (eds) 2017. The Andaman–Nicobar Accretionary Ridge: Geology, Tectonics and Hazards.
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 47, 225–232. https://doi.org/10.1144/M47.16
# 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights reserved.
For permissions: http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/permissions. Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics
 Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Exeter on February 2, 2017
226 P. C. BANDOPADHYAY ET AL.

Fig. 16.1. Geological map of Middle Andaman including Long and Guitar islands. Modified after Pandey et al. (1992) and Roy & Das Sharma (1993), the
map shows several north–south-oriented lenticular folded units of Palaeogene carbonate build-ups that are promising for exploration of limestones. Also note
the occurrences of Neogene limestones in Long and Guitar islands.
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NATURAL RESOURCES
6 km SSE of Mayabandar, these rocks occur over an area of
c. 4000 m2. Bandyopadhyaya et al. (1973) reported a total
reserve per metre depth of approximately 10 000 tonnes. It
was also reported that the main lensoid limestone body
expected to have an extension up to a depth of 30 m. In the
Tugapur Rest Camp sector located 16 km SW of Mayabandar,
the main limestone body has a surface area of about 3000 m2.
The total reserve per metre depth is approximately 8500
tonnes. In the Buddha Nala area 20 km south from Mayaban-
dar, the limestone has a surface area of about 5000 m2 with an
expected reserve of 12 000 tonnes per metre depth. Bandyo-
padhyaya et al. (1973) mentioned that the available chemical
data show the limestones are of high chemical purity; most
of the samples conform to the specifications of blast furnace
(BF) and steel melting shop (SMS) grades, although no analyt-
ical data were provided to support this. An environmental pro-
tection act enacted by the Indian Ministry of Forest and
Environment means it is unlikely that these resources will
be developed.
Neogene limestones (Melville Limestone of Long Island)
The Melville Limestone described by Karunakaran et al.
(1968) belongs to the middle Miocene Long Formation of
Long Island (Srinivasan & Azmi 1976). The formation and
type area are exposed at Melville Point on Long Island and
the Meetha Nala and PWD Nala sections on Havelock and
Guitar islands. Based on planktonic foraminiferal assem-
blages, the age of the formation ranges from middle to late
Miocene (Srinivasan & Azmi 1976). A logged section of the
Long Formation made at Jetty Point on Long Island by Sharma
& Srinivasan (2007) recorded soft greenish-grey calcareous
silty mudstones at the base of the section overlain by massive
moderately soft grey calcareous mudstones, a hard dirty yel-
low limestone and finally a soft granular white limestone. Ban-
dyopadhyaya et al. (1973) reported an approximate reserve of
limestone for the upper 3.7 m thick band of about 9700 tonnes
per metre depth. Analyses showed some samples are of high
chemical purity and correspond to SMS grade (low in silica),
but in general the limestones on average show BF grade.
227
Fig. 16.2. Blocks of coarsely crystalline
limestone of pre-ophiolite age lying
scattered in mud matrix, Sippighat,
South Andaman.
The Long Island limestones were further investigated by the
Geological Survey of India (GSI) and a programme of drilling
was carried out between 1986 and 1990 to better estimate lime-
stone reserves in the northern part of the island (Govt of India
2012). Two limestone horizons were identified, separated
by about 30–50 m thick calcareous mudstones. The lower
horizon, varying in thickness over the range 10– 20 m, often
contains several centimetre-thick intercalations of clay/
shale. The upper limestone horizon varies in thickness from
4 to 10 m and occurs in the stratigraphically higher and upland
portion of the island. This upper limestone is reported to have a
promising percentage of CaO suitable for cement manufacture
(.45 wt% CaO and ,3 wt% MgO is considered as suitable).
During the first phase of investigation, 561.95 m of drilling in
six boreholes along a strike distance of 1.6 km yielded a
reserve of about 5.92 million tonnes of cement-grade lime-
stone above sea level, including a reserve of one million tonnes
of float limestone, taking into consideration a CaO content of
40 wt%. The drill core showed an interstratified sequence of
limestone and argillaceous limestones, the latter increasing
with depth. During 1989– 90 a second phase of investigation,
which also involved large-scale mapping, focused on the
northern part of the island. Here, drill core showed that the
argillaceous limestones became more prominent; the calcu-
lated reserve is 0.48 million tonnes of limestone including
0.13 million tonnes of float limestones. The analyses of sam-
ples revealed that the CaO varies from 39.96 to 50.43 wt%.
The other important elements such as magnesium and silica
also vary widely. The silica content varies from 2.40 to
5.77 wt% SiO2 in the limestones and reached up to
32.17 wt% in bands rich in argillaceous matter. The magne-
sium content varied from 1.00 to 9.02 wt% MgO.
Chromite and PGE investigation
The search for chromite deposits and the associated Platinum
Group of Elements (PGE) began nearly five decades ago and
focused on the ultramafic rocks of the Panchawati area of Mid-
dle Andaman and on Rutland Island (Ray 1982; Vohra et al.
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228 P. C. BANDOPADHYAY ET AL.

1989; Pal et al. 2003). Recent studies have added more details
about the type of occurrences, the precise nature of chromite
mineralization and petrogenesis (Pal et al. 2003; Ghosh et al.
2009, 2012, 2013; Bhattacharya et al. 2013; Ghosh & Bhatta
2014). Pal et al. (2003) noted that chromite-rich deposits
along the Rutland coast occur mainly as: (1) placers in two nar-
row zones with extensions of 40 m in Mitha Nala and 45 m in
Chain Nala areas; and (2) thin stringers hosted in altered dunite
and harzburgite. In the Panchawati area, chromite occurs as
small pods with a maximum size of 76  60 cm, concentrated
in a small zone (11  3.5 m) within serpentinized harzburgite.
Globally, ophiolite-hosted chromitites occur within the
shallow mantle peridotite section and/or in the overlying
transition-zone dunite (Boudier & Nicolas 1985; Nicolas &
Al Azri 1991; Arai 1997). The mantle section of the Anda-
man –Nicobar ophiolite hosts rarely developed podiform chro-
mitite (Ghosh et al. 2009, 2013; Pal 2011; Ghosh & Bhatta
2014) (Fig. 16.3a). Other than pods, chromitite also occurs
as millimetre- to centimetre-scale massive bands within the
transition zone dunites (Ghosh et al. 2009). Massive chromitite
pods within harzburgite have also been reported from Rutland
Island (Ghosh et al. 2009), whereas the same in lherzolitic
mantle rocks have been reported from North Andaman
(Ghosh et al. 2013; Ghosh & Bhatta 2014). In the Andaman
Islands they are rarely found in situ and embedded in rocks,
reported mostly as strewn boulders, and occasionally envel-
oped by serpentinized dunite. The size of the chromitite pods
commonly range from 8 to 20 cm, although the maximum
size reaches up to 50 cm, and are commonly oval to lensoidal
in section and seldom irregular in outline. Because of the high
rheological contrast between the chromitite pods and their
host rocks, alteration and weathering removes the contact
zone and the pods mostly occur as loose boulders. This break-
down means that it is often difficult to establish the relation-
ship between the pods and the host rocks at outcrop. One
exception is in North Andaman where several lenticular
pods arranged along-strike within an intensely serpentinized,
semi-concordant dunite define the melt channel.
Chromitite pods are massive and preserve the magmatic
cumulus texture. The mantle host rocks together with the chro-
mitite pods are hydrothermally altered, and are dissected by
networks of cross-cutting millimetre-scale serpentine-rich
veins with development of andradite-uvarovite along the
vein wall (Ghosh & Morishita 2011). Near their contact with
the serpentinized envelope the pods show cataclasis and brec-
ciation, likely related to emplacement. Chromian spinel grains
also show deformation microstructures such as pull-apart
cracks and subgrains which are interpreted as having formed
in response to mantle flow (Ghosh et al. 2013). Composition-
ally, the chromitite pods belong to two classes: (1) high-Cr
pods; and (2) low-Cr pods. The high-Cr pods occur in the harz-
burgite mantle rocks on Rutland Island (Ghosh et al. 2009)
(Fig. 16.3a) and in lherzolites on North Andaman (Ghosh
et al. 2013), whereas the low-Cr pods are only known on

Fig. 16.3. Field photographs showing: (a) oval-shaped chromitite pod embedded in altered harzburgite from Rutland Island; (b) lenticular chromitite pod
in lherzolite from North Andaman; (c) chromitite band hosted in dunite from Rutland Island; and (d) concentrated black sands rich in chromite on the
beach floor from Rutland Island.
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NATURAL RESOURCES
North Andaman (Ghosh et al. 2013) (Fig. 16.3b). Geochemi-
cally, the chromian spinels of these high-Cr chromitites have
an arc-spinel trend and suggest a supra-subduction zone set-
ting; by contrast, the low-Cr chromitites show a MORB-spinel
trend (Ghosh & Bhatta 2014).
Chromitite bands (millimetre- to centimetre-scale) and
stringers hosted in dunite overlying the mantle rocks have
been reported from Rutland Island (Ghosh et al. 2009)
(Fig. 16.3c). Chromite occurs mainly as subhedral intergranu-
lar phases to olivines in these bands. Chromite also occurs in
natural concentrations in black sands as beach placers through-
out the Andaman Islands (Ghosh et al. 2012; Bhatta & Ghosh
2014) (Fig. 16.3d), especially along the eastern coast where the
rock types in the close vicinity consist of ophiolites, various
types of peridotites and volcanic rocks. They are most con-
centrated at the confluence of streams meeting the Andaman
Sea whose catchment areas are covered by ophiolitic rocks.
The best concentrations occur north of Chain Nala (118 290
0100 N, 928 400 3300 E) on Rutland Island (Pal et al. 2003;
Ghosh et al. 2012) and Panchawati (128 340 4500 N, 928 570
4100 E) and along the Betapur coast (128 350 1200 N, 928 570
3200 E) on Middle Andaman (Ghosh et al. 2012). XRF analyses
of samples of chromite and the host rocks from the Panchawati
area of Middle Andaman show that Cr2O3 ranges from 49.50 to
55.50 wt%. The host harzburgite has SiO2 ranging from 39.04
to 39.48 wt% and MgO from 26.92 to 28.43 wt%. These are
economically important values; however, apart from small
metre-scale pockets, no large outcrops of the high-Mg rocks
have been found. PGE prospecting in chromite bodies found
PGE values with sub-economic concentration (Ru , 10 –
56 ppb, Ir , 10–12 ppb, Rh , 10 ppb, Pd , 10–136 ppb
and Pt , 10 –28 ppb) (Pal et al. 2003).
Gold and base metal investigations
Geophysical surveys conducted by the geophysical division of
GSI identified an induced polarization (IP) anomaly zone at
depth over the pillow basalts. There are several occurrences
of gossans (senso lato) pockets in and around Beadonabad
on South Andaman and a search for gold and base metal min-
eralization in this area was carried out on gossan-rich zones
developed over the local basic rocks. Large-scale geological
mapping on a 1:2000 scale and trench sampling in the miner-
alized zone were also carried out. The major rock types in and
around the Beadonabad area are pillow basalt, andesite, pla-
giogranite and acid volcanics. Sulphide mineralization was
observed in a silicified zone within the pillow basalts as well
as in the diorite and acid volcanic-andesite assemblages in
the area to the south and east of Beadonabad. A few samples
collected from the silicified gossan zone over the pillow basalts
yielded gold values as high as 1.97 ppm. (Bandopadhyay et al.
1992; Chakraborty & Biswas 1995). The occurrences are
highly restricted and do not persist at depth. In the coastal
tract ESE of Beadonabad, thin ramifying veins of pyrite with
rare chalcopyrite were also found.
Coal
Occurrences of small lenticular pockets of coal have been
reported from the Lipa Black Shale. The individual bodies
are very thin, from a few centimetres to just over a metre
thick. Laterally, and even depth-wise, the coals hardly con-
tinue for several metres. The coal is black, soft and friable. It
burns with a very smoky flame and is a high volatile sub-
bituminous to bituminous coal. No occurrences are large
enough to be economically useful. Persistent but limited occur-
rences of bituminous coal in the form of seams a few tens of
229
centimetres thick occur interbedded with the Andaman Flysch
sandstone, recognized by the authors at Danros Point on South
Andaman.
Sulphides
The occurrence of small nests and veins and streaks with dis-
semination of pyrite and chalcopyrite have been known from
the basic to intermediate members of the volcanic units, espe-
cially along the eastern coasts of South Andaman between
Corbyn’s Cove and Chiriyatapu through to Brooksabad, Bea-
donabad, Rangachang and Kodiaghat. Apart from some pre-
liminary investigations through shallow pitting around
Beadonabad, no detailed investigation has been carried out
to determine the extent of the sulphide mineralization.
Nickel
Since 1960 detailed investigations through soil sampling has
been carried out to locate possible nickeliferous occurrences
in the Andaman Islands. Several reddish-brown latosolic
areas above in situ basic and ultrabasic bodies have been iden-
tified. Geochemical analyses for nickel content have also been
carried out in a few cases on the parent basic and ultrabasic
bedrocks. Ultrabasic plutonic rocks such as dunite and perido-
tite contain 200 –400 ppm nickel on average, while nickel con-
tent in the serpentinite varies between 2000 and 3000 ppm.
Occasionally the altered serpentinite immediately below the
soil profile contains 4000–5000 ppm nickel; rarely, it may
go as high as 2–3 wt%. Average nickel content in grey brown
soils rarely exceeds 100 ppm, but in latosolic soil it ranges
between 1000 and 5000 ppm with an average of c. 2500 –
3000 ppm. No distinct anomalous zone or belt has been
located. The 3000 ppm nickel levels seen in the serpentinized
and latosolic bodies should be taken as the background (thresh-
old) value of nickel for these lithotypes. It is presumed that
nickel occurs in the lattice of the silicate minerals (like olivine)
constituting ultrabasic rocks and in the hydrated silicates of the
soil fraction.
Construction material
This is the only geological resource of the Andaman –Nicobar
Islands that is used effectively. Strongly indurated and less
altered and fractured slabs of bedded sandstones of the Anda-
man Flysch serve as good building stone, as do the strongly
indurated gritty sandstone beds of the Namunagarh Grit.
Large-scale mining of rocks from a serpentinized ultramafic
hill (locally known as Badmashpahar) on South Andaman
Island has long been carried out for road construction, bridges,
sea wall defences and other infrastructures (Fig. 16.4). Dutta
Gupta & Sen (2001) examined the feasibility of basalts of
the Brookshabad quarry on South Andaman for marine
construction work, and a conservative estimate suggests
150– 180 m3 of the basalt remain. Clays suitable for the
brick and pottery industry are plentiful in the Neogene Archi-
pelago Group among the islands of Ritchie’s Archipelago and
the Nicobar Islands.
Resources of Barren Island
Sulphur
Small occurrences of solfataric sulphur have been investigated
in the main crater and in the cone of Barren Island volcano.
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230 P. C. BANDOPADHYAY ET AL.
These are pure elemental sulphur, sometimes associated with
volcanic ash. The deposits are small and not economical.
Volcanic ash
The volcano has a long history of eruptions of ash and larger
tephra including extensive flows of basaltic lava to the present
day. While reviewing the resources of the Barren Island, Hob-
day & Mallet (1885) wrote: ‘there is an unlimited supply of
fine volcanic ash, or “Puzzuolana” on the Island, a material
which is used in Central France and other parts of Europe as
an ingredient of hydraulic mortar or cement’. These authors
also mentioned that if the ash could be shipped to Port Blair
at a sufficiently low rate, it would be worth experimenting
on by mixing with lime. It is in this context that the fine ash,
lapilli and blocks and boulders of basaltic composition from
the recent eruptions could be of value both as a constituent
in building materials but also for landscaping. It is estimated
that the 1991 eruption produced a total of 8 million m3 of vol-
canic ash (Haldar & Luhr 2003). The subsequent eruptions
during 1994 –95, 2005 –06 and 2008– 09 that continue inter-
mittently have added to this.
Oil and natural gas
Boileau (1950) first considered Baratang Island for exploration
of oil and natural gas based on the presence of mud volcanoes.
Several indications suggested the presence of oil and gas:
within the grey saline mud are emissions of amber-coloured
crude oil along with colourless flammable gas. A recent gas
chromatography study of gases emitted from the Baratang
Island mud volcanoes found a high concentration of CH4
(55.7 vol%) and CO2 (2.0 vol%) emissions, consistent with a
link to gas hydrate formations (Chaudhuri et al. 2012), but
as yet these are not considered useful as a resource. Due to
the overpressure rock fragments are also ejected with the
mud, and Boileau noted both argillite and limestone fragments
within the mud volcano on Baratang Island which, similarly to
the other mud volcanoes, is located within the Baratang For-
mation. Boileau also speculated that oil and gas might be
found in rocks of the Archipelago Group of Ritchie’s Archipel-
ago. The search for oil has moved from land to sea.
Fig. 16.4. Stone quarry of serpentinized
ultramafic rocks (locally known as
Badmashpahar) in South Andaman.
The large thrust-block of serpentinized
ophiolite rests on Mithakhari
sediments.
Both Palaeogene and Neogene successions may be suitable
as source, reservoir and cap rocks for the generation and
accumulation of oil and natural gas. Simple alternate synclinal
and anticlinal structures of the large part of the Great Nicobar
Island were suggested as suitable targets (Karunakaran et al.
1975). Similarity in terms of stratigraphy and geotectonic
setting of the Andaman –Nicobar Islands to that of the oil-pro-
ducing basins in Myanmar in the north and Indonesia in the
SE, as well as the detailed petrographic examination of a
large number of Neogene limestones on Ritchie’s Archipelago,
led Srinivasan & Chatterjee (1981) to suggest the possible
presence of hydrocarbon-bearing strata in Miocene rocks.
Roy (1983) discussed the prospects of hydrocarbon explora-
tion in various geotectonic settings of Andaman –Nicobar
Basin on the basis of detailed seismic profiles drawn across
the Andaman Island at 118 N. He mentioned that the evidence
of hydrocarbon in the outer high (outer arc) which includes the
Andaman Island is found in the form of minor gas and oil
shows associated with mud volcanoes. On the basis of seismic
sections and the structural configuration of Miocene marine
sequences, Roy & Das Sharma (1993) considered the offshore
areas in the Andaman Sea back-arc basin as suitable targets.
Interest in the Andaman Sea basins to the east of the islands
stems from geophysical surveys conducted by ONGC since
1977; over 245 000 km2 of seismic lines showed anticlinal
and fault-related structures suitable as hydrocarbon traps in
post-Oligocene sediments, as well as stratigraphic traps such
as pinch-outs, wedge-outs, reefs and gravity-flow deposits.
At least 13 exploration wells were drilled between 1980 and
1987 to accompany these investigations (Fig. 16.5), although
they were confined to shallow waters close to the main Anda-
man Islands; two wells found gas hydrates. Well AN-1-1
drilled east of the Andaman shelf found gas in a middle Mio-
cene limestone (flowing at 180 000 m3/day) as well as traces
in deeper Cretaceous sands. Indications of gas were also
found in early Miocene ash beds of well AN-32-1. Data
from well AN-63C-1 found good to mature organic matter of
Kerogen Type-II and -III in the pre-Neogene section. A well
drilled in the Andaman Sea (site 17) by the Indian National
Gas Hydrate Program, Expedition 1 in 2006 to investigate
reservoir-scale controls on gas hydrate distribution confirmed
the presence of methane-hydrate-bearing sediments, espe-
cially in volcanic ash layers.
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Fig. 16.5. (a) Locations of exploratory wells drilled between 1980 and 1990. (b) Exploration blocks allocated under the New Exploration Licensing Policy
(NELP) scheme formulated by the Government of India. Also shown are the large oil and gas fields in Myanmar waters.
There is little published seismic data from the Andaman
basins: Goli & Pandey (2014) reviewed multichannel seismic
reflection data acquired from a 2500 km line spanning the
outer arc to back arc by the Directorate of Hydrocarbons
(DGH) during 2002–03, and described a number of structures
suitable as traps. The National Gas Hydrate Programme
(NGHP) involved both seismic data collection as well as drill-
ing in 2006 (Collett et al. 2008). A collaboration between the
Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, US Geological Survey
and the Consortium for Scientific Methane Hydrate Investiga-
tions used the research drill ship JOIDES Resolution and drill-
ing/coring equipment provided by the Integrated Ocean
Drilling Program (IODP). Well NGHP-01 (site 17, Fig. 16.5)
was drilled off the east coast of Little Andaman (108
45.19120 N, 938 6.73650 E) in a water depth of 1344 m. Sedi-
ment core and borehole-related data recovered by drilling to
a depth of 693 m below the seafloor included detection of nat-
ural gas hydrates, especially in the more porous late Miocene
volcanic ash layers. Descriptions of the sedimentology, strati-
graphic ages and gas hydrates for this well are contained in
papers published in a special volume of Marine and Petroleum
Geology in 2014 (e.g. Flores et al. 2014; Rose et al. 2014).
Today, the Andaman Sea Basin as a hydrocarbon pros-
pect can be viewed in the context of discoveries made in neigh-
bouring territorial waters such as the giant Yetagun gas fields
in the Myanmar sector (Fig. 16.5). The main reservoir rocks
are lower Miocene shallow-marine to shelf-edge deltaic sand-
stones and the source rocks are lower Miocene marine shales.
From 1999 until 2012 blocks in the Andaman sector were
231
offered to public and private sector companies under the
New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) scheme formulated
by the Government of India (Fig. 16.5). Two exploration
blocks in deep waters, namely AN-DWN-2002/1 and AN-
DWN-2002/2 offered under NELP-IV round, were awarded
to the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Another two exploration blocks, AN-DWN-2003/1 and AN-
DWN-2003/2, were offered under the NELP-V round and
awarded to ONGC and an ENI-ONGC-GAIL consortium,
respectively. However, little progress was made following
the awards of these blocks as international investor confidence
waned due partly to bureaucratic hurdles. A prime example is
the case of the multinational company ENI that was awarded
part of the AN-DWN-2003/2 deepwater block off the east
coast of the Andaman Islands (Fig. 16.5). The company later
found out that drilling required clearance not only from the
Ministry of Environment and Forestry but also from the
Department of Space, as India’s East Coast Space Centre
had plans to launch rockets and satellites over the acreage. It
later chose to relinquish its stake and focus on prospects in
the Moattama – South Andaman basin belonging to Myanmar.
Blocks awarded to ONGC in the ninth NELP round in 2010
(AN-DWN-2009/1-18) were located in deeper waters at
depths of 2795–3420 m off both the east and west sides of
the Andaman–Nicobar Islands (Fig. 16.5). The tenth round
of NELP offerings, which included blocks in the Andaman
region, was delayed to make the bidding process more interna-
tionally attractive; at the time of writing (late 2015) it had still
not gone ahead.
 Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Exeter on February 2, 2017
232 P. C. BANDOPADHYAY ET AL.
The authors thank the reviewers for their constructive reviews and Rob Stra-
chan for his careful and judicial editorial handling of the manuscript. Much
of this work stems from support provided by NERC award NE/B503192/1
to Carter and Book Writing Project by the Department of Science and Tech-
nology, Government of India to Bandopadhyay.
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