ONGC overcomes output downturn

Ongoing programme to offset decline from older reservoirs and put on stream recent oil & gas discoveries, with massive investment

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has for the first time in seven years reported an annual increase in oil production from its western offshore fields.

Crude oil production from here had risen 14 per cent, up from 285,000 barrels last April to 325,000 barrels this March. Hydrocarbon production from the offshore fields is 70 per cent of its total output.

"We have made a turnaround in production and arrested the steady decline in fields over the past few years," said T K Sengupta, director, offshore. The government-owned company, the largest Indian producer, recorded a 4.5 per cent increase in crude oil production at 22.3 million tonnes in 2014-15.

Sengupta said the management had broken down its Vision 2030 document in stages and to begin with, is looking at the first five years till 2020. "Our target is to monitor our assets closely and make all possible efforts to step up production," he added.

When ONGC began its programme for 2014-15, the company says it decided to make improvements on the production front. With some technology infusion and innovative methods, it could fast-track and monetise output from some marginal fields - D1, B193, Cluster-7. It has added 12,000 to 13,000 barrels of oil from B193; about 16,000 from Cluster-7 and improved D1 production from 18,000 to 30,000 barrels.

"The plan is to maintain this by additional developmental drilling, which can offset the steady decline from old reservoirs, 25-40 years old," said Sengupta.

A major focus area will be its eastern offshore asset, KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5, in the Krishna-Godavari basin. A development plan for 98/2 is on. ONGC plans to invest Rs 35,000-40,000 crore on development of the eastern offshore deepwater oil and gas fields. Oil apart, it has 10 gas discoveries. The block sits next to Reliance Industries' producing KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6.

The first gas from D5 is expected in 2018 and the first oil in 2019. The expected gas is 14 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd) at the peak and of oil, around 70,000 barrels (peak).

"With this, ONGC will be on the cusp of another turnaround," said Sengupta, adding the -KG output would be waxy crude, for which they'd have to construct a floating production, storage and offloading unit.

This financial year, ONGC also plans to begin work on major western offshore fields. These would be Mumbai High's North and South re-development, Daman (gas), and the Vasai and Bassein fields (gas). The investments readied are Rs 25,000 crore.

"The first gas from Daman is expected in August 2016. All these projects are on track, planned and monitored at the highest level. Daman would produce 2.5 mscmd and will reach a peak of 8.4 mscmd by 2018-19," said Sengupta.

Parallely, ONGC will begin redevelopment of Mumbai High North, which will add 10,000 barrels of oil from 2016-17 onwards.