(Representative Photo)
ONGC to Invest Over $2 Billion in 103 Wells to Boost Production by 100 Million Tonnes. India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the country’s largest oil and gas producer, has announced its plan to invest more than $2 billion in drilling a record 103 wells on its Bassein and Satellite (B&S) assets in the Arabia Sea. The investment will be a significant part of ONGC’s turnaround plan, which aims to add 100 million tonnes to its production. The new wells will tap into smaller and untapped reservoirs to raise output, and the investment involved in drilling and facilities will be over $2 billion.
Pankaj Kumar, ONGC Director (Offshore), said, “We have released a record 103 locations for drilling of wells on the Bassein and Satellite assets over the next 2-3 years. We estimate that this development drilling will enhance production by over 100 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas over the life of the field.” ONGC, which produces two-thirds of all oil and gas produced in the country, has been working on a comprehensive asset base plan to increase output and reduce the country’s dependence on imports for meeting energy needs.
India currently imports over 85% of its crude oil and roughly half of its natural gas, which is used to produce electricity, make fertiliser, and converted into compressed natural gas (CNG) for running automobiles and piped to household kitchens for cooking. The government has been urging state-owned firms to step up efforts to raise domestic output to help cut the $115 billion import bill.
Kumar said the B&S asset has several fields, including the prime Bassein gas field, D1 and Tapti-Daman, which currently produce 55,000-56,000 barrels per day (2.8 million tonnes) of oil and 28 million standard cubic metres per day of gas. He added that ONGC has done a reservoir profiling for the entire asset to plan the drilling campaign, and the new wells will bring additional production that will offset the natural decline in older wells and add to the overall output.
ONGC is likely to see a reversal of production decline from the current fiscal year, with crude oil production slated to rise to 22.823 million tonnes and gas to 22.099 bcm. In the following fiscal year, oil production will climb to 24.636 million tonnes and 25.689 million tonnes in 2024-25. Natural gas production is also expected to rise to 25.685 bcm in 2023-24 and 27.529 bcm in the following year. ONGC will adopt a similar approach for the rejuvenation of the other two assets in the western offshore. The fourth phase of redevelopment of Mumbai High, India’s most prolific oil and gas field, is almost complete, and the next phase is at the implementation stage, while the sixth is at the conceptualisation stage.
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