Cairn Energy India Ptd Ltd has made a "significant" gas discovery in the exploration block CB-OS/2 in the Gulf of Cambay.
Gas has been discovered at a depth of 816 metres. This means that the cost of bringing the gas out will be quite low. Testing has been completed for gas, which is flowing at a high rate of 0.8 million standard cubic metres per day.
The gas is dry methane with no evidence of any harmful components. The gas-bearing sandstone layers are more than 30 metres thick, according to an official statement issued yesterday.
Though some liquid also flowed out along with gas, it is not certain if the field has crude oil reserves as well.
Cairn Energy India has been able to discover gas within two years of its being awarded the block in mid-1998. Official sources said the company completed seismic survey of the block in February and the rig had been moved to the site barely three weeks ago.
The officials pointed out that it was the prompt action taken by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which is a partner in the consortium that has been awarded the block, in moving one of the rigs chartered by it to the site that helped in drilling the well before the onset of the monsoon.
With monsoon about to set in the region, it is learnt that the company is preparing to move the rig out of the Gulf of Cambay.
The block was awarded to the consortium consisting of Cairn Energy India Ptd Ltd as the operator and Tata Petrodyne Ltd and ONGC as other partners. At present, ONGC's stake in the field is 10 per cent but it has the option to increase it by another 30 per cent in case of commercial discovery. This would reduce Cairn's equity stake to 50 per cent.
Congratulating Cairn Energy on the discovery, minister for petroleum and natural gas Ram Naik said it augured extremely well for the future of exploration and production of oil and gas in India.
