Overview
- Hindustan Oil Exploration Company has filed for a development project to drill four offshore hydrocarbon wells about 18 kilometres off Parangipettai, with bore depths planned up to 3,000 metres and an estimated cost of Rs 425 crore.
- The proposal is currently under examination by the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority and has not received clearance.
- Local fishermen, environmental NGOs including Poovulagin Nanbargal, the Anti‑Methane Project Federation and regional parties have publicly opposed the plan, saying seismic surveys and deep drilling would harm fish stocks and coastal livelihoods.
- Activists note the site lies roughly 11.48 kilometres from the Pichavaram mangrove reserve and warn that disturbance to the seabed and potential pollution could damage a sensitive ecosystem that supports local fishing communities.
- The DMK and other regional parties have called on the state government to refuse permission, citing the party’s prior interventions to block hydrocarbon projects and placing political pressure on regulators as the next decisive factor.