GSPCL set to commission Hazira platform

The state-run Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPCL), will commission an offshore platform this month in Hazira field.

The platform is expected to increase the company's gas production by 50 per cent. The Canada-based Niko Resources is the GSPCL's partner in Hazira field.

C K Koshy, chairman of GSPCL told Business Standard, "The platform is expected to reach Hazira during the first week of March from Bangkok. It will take another four to six weeks before the platform is commissioned."

He said that after the commissioning of the platform, GSPCL will begin the drilling in 16 new wells in the Hazira field during next one and half years.

"Remaining nine wells will also be drilled with the help of the new platform in the second phase, thus significantly increasing our gas production from Hazira."

The six-legged platform will be installed three kilometres away from the land based drilling platform (LBDP), which the company now uses for gas exploration.

The Rs 250 crore offshore platform was built at a shipyard in Bangkok by Clough Inc. The platform was shipped from Bangkok around 28 days back and will reach the Gujrat coastline during this week.

GSPCL is expected to start digging the new wells from mid-April. The company expects to increase the gas production to 5 million standard cubic metre per day (MSCMD) in next one year from its current production of 3.5 MSCMD.

The company has recently signed a long-term sales agreement with Gail India Ltd for 1 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) of gas.

"We hope that the increase in gas production from Hazira will also help us increase our sales revenues by end of the next fiscal," said Koshi. He added that GSPCL will start the exploration in Krishna-Godavari basin by April.

The KG basin exploration block (KG-OSN-2001/3) was allotted to GSPCL by the government under NELP-III scheme and is situated near Rajamundry on the shelf part of Krishna-Godavari basin measuring.

The water depth within the block increases from less than 10 meter depth to 400 meter from the coast to the eastern margin of the block.

GSPCL has also recently found a reserve of gas and oil from its first well in the Ahmedabad Exploration Block.

This block was awarded to the company by the government under the NELP-II scheme during June 2001. Gail India is GSPCL's partner in this block, which is located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.