ONGC strikes gas/oil in KG basin

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has made three oil & gas finds, one in the shallow waters off the western offshore and two in the deep waters in Krishna Godavari (KG) basin on the east coast.

All the three oil & gas finds are in the pre-new exploration licensing policy (NELP) blocks where ONGC is a 100 per cent operator.

A senior executive with ONGC said, "We have struck oil and gas in our exploratory wells spudded on the western and eastern offshores. We have drilled around 500 exploratory wells in the Bombay High platform. We are establishing the property by appraising the location and studying the whole data."

"We have yet to fully estimate the reserves of oil and gas in these blocks", he added.

The new finds have come at time when oil prices have been highly volatile and have rocketed to over $50 per barrel. Despite this, oil demand has been robust in India, which imports more than 70 per cent of its oil requirements. These finds have also been a great morale booster for ONGC.

In the past few years, India has been making frantic efforts to get "equity oil" in foreign countries to ensure oil security. Moreso, such discoveries will help India lower its dependence for energy on other countries.

The company intends to put the development of the two blocks, on the east coast, on fast track.

The well VA-2 (vashishtha-2 ) in block KG-OS-DW-IV will be integrated to up-scaled exploitation plan of G-I and GS-15 structures where ONGC is developing the country's first digital oil field in KG basin.

While the 1G block will be integrated to the development plan of G4 and GS-29 prospects which are taken up on fast-track by the company.

In the western offshore, "the oil and gas are of high quality", the company stated, while pointing out that in the deeper objects about 4,90,736 cubic meters of gas per day and 2,491 per barrel of oil per day flowed though 1/2" choke, while in the shallower object 4,51,838 cubic meters of gas per day and 2045 bbl of oil flowed per day .

On the eastern coast, the well VA-2 flowed 3,26,545 cubic meters of gas per day .

The ONGC stock hit a high of Rs 862 in intra-day trades before closing at Rs 859.15. compared with Wednesay's closing price of Rs 836.55.

Sources said, the stock slipped from higher levels on profit booking by a domestic mutual fund.