ONGC to invest $2 billion to drill 103 wells in Arabian Sea, will raise oil, gas output by this much

Oil and gas producer ONGC said that it will put in over $2 billion in drilling 103 wells in Arabian Sea as it works on a turnaround plan that is aimed at adding 100 million tonnes to production, PTI reported citing the PSU’s Director.

“We have released a record 103 locations for drilling of wells on the Bassein and Satellite (B&S) assets over the next 2-3 years,” said Pankaj Kumar, Director (Offshore), ONGC. The wells will tap smaller and untapped reservoirs and help raise output.

ONGC has three main assets off the west coast: Mumbai High, Heera and Neelam, and Bassein and Satellite, which contributed the bulk of 21.7 million tonnes of oil and 21.68 billion cubic metres of gas it produced in 2021-22. Pankaj Kumar said that the development is estimated to enhance production by over 100 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas over the life of the field and the investment involved in drilling and facilities will be over $2 billion.

ONGC produces two-third of the total oil and gas produced in India, and the incremental production from the development will help the country cut dependence on imports to meet its energy needs. India imports over 85 per cent of the crude oil, which is later converted into fuels such as petrol and diesel; and imports almost half of the natural gas that produces electricity, makes fertilisers and provides CNG.

The government too has been pushing PSUs to step up efforts to increase domestic output which could help cut India’s import bill of $115 billion. Over the years, ONGC has reported gradual decline in output for over a decade primarily because its fields are old. But it is now working on a comprehensive asset base plan rather than a piecemeal field centric approach. “B&S asset has several fields including the prime Bassein gas field, D1 and Tapti-Daman. These 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,” Kumar said.

The Daman field is projected to contribute 6-7 mmscmd of more gas while the Tapti field may see oil output almost doubling to 30,000 bpd. ONGC will deploy a similar approach for the rejuvenation of the other two assets in the western offshore.

The fourth phase of the redevelopment of Mumbai High is almost complete and the next phase is at implementation stage and the sixth phase is at conceptualisation, Kumar informed. In the current fiscal year, crude oil production is slated to rise to 22.823 million tonnes and gas to 22.099 bcm. In the following fiscal year, oil production will rech 24.636 million tonnes and 25.689 million tonnes in 2024-25. And natural gas  production is expected to rise to 25.685 bcm in 2023-24 and 27.529 bcm in the following year.

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