ONGC to invest Rs 5700 cr in Neelam Heera oil field

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest Rs 5,700 crore to increase the production of Neelam Heera off-shore oil field near Bombay high.

The redevelopment project will give ONGC an additional annual revenue of Rs 260 crore through the production of 9,12,500 barrels oil. The current capacity of Neelam Heera stands at 1,500 barrels per day (bpd) and will be raised to 4,000 bpd after redevelopment.

According to a company source, the development plan has been submitted to the management last week and is awaiting financial clearance.

"The investment for the redevelopment of Neelam Heera will be Rs 5700 crore. The project is expected to completed by 2009 to raise the company's crude production," he added.

The company plans to upgrade the compression facility, re-develop Neelam Heera, optimise the gas-lift system, integrate and optimise surface facility between Neelam and Heera fields, install new platform and drill 45 new wells. The current fuel recovery from the oil field will be raised from 28 per cent to 35 per cent after expansion.

ONGC had launched a redevelopment project in Bombay High in February and September 2001 to restrict a drop in production as well as improve the recovery factor.

The total project cost was Rs 8,200 crore. The redevelopment project was launched following a drop in production from 20 million tonne to 12 million tonne a year.