ONGC to invest Rs7,327 cr to develop 5 fields

The board of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Thursday approved investments of a total Rs7,327 crore to develop five hydrocarbon fields and notified two new discoveries.

The fresh investment in the fields are likely to result in an annual increase of 14.969 million tonnes of oil and 2.972 billion cubic metre (BCM) of gas, the company said in a statement.

The five major projects include development of R-series fields, including revival of the Ratna R-12, involving an investment of Rs4,104.63 crore, besides redevelopment of Santhal field (Rs1,162.56 crore), development of B-147 field (Rs546.15 crore), development of BSE-11 block (Rs511.30 crore) and fourth phase development of NBP field (Rs1,002.67), totalling Rs7,327.31 crore.

The Ratna (R-12) field was discovered in 1979 and put on production in 1983, which continued till 1994. The government awarded the contract for development of Ratna and R-series fields in 1996 to a private sector consortium in a competitive bidding round.

However, the contract could not be signed due to various issues. In March 2016, the government reverted the Ratna and R-Series fields to ONGC for development and production.

ONGC board approved investment of Rs4,104.63 crore for development of R-series fields, including revival of R-12A (Ratna). Ratna-R Series fields are located about 130 km south-west of Mumbai and around 41 km from Heera field in the Western Offshore at an approximate water depth of 40-50 meters.

Out of 37 structures in the field, eight structures were found to be oil bearing and only one R-12 (Ratna) field was under exploitation during the period 1982 to 1994. The remaining R-series structures are yet to be monetised.

The scheme envisages first oil production by 2018-19. The peak production rate of 14,583 bopd is expected to be achieved in 2019-20 with a cumulative production of 8.39 MMT of oil and 1.696 BCM of gas during the project life.

The project is scheduled to be completed by 31 May 2021.

The Santhal oil field of off Mehsana in North Gujarat is located in the southern part of the heavy belt of North Cambay Basin. It was discovered in 1971 and put on production in 1974. The field had oil initially in place of 53.56 MMt with ultimate reserves of 23.28 MMt as of 1 April 2016.

The envisaged primary recovery was only 17 per cent of tis. Therefore, to enhance the oil recovery from the field, an EOR technique - In-situ combustion (ISC) was implemented in 1997, which is now at the matured stage. So far 14.46 MMt oil has been produced from the field which is 27 per cent of OIIP.

To further accelerate the recovery and capture the displaced oil, a redevelopment plan has been drawn in which 129 new wells are to be drilled. It also includes revamping and upgradation of 2 GGS-cum-CTFs in the field and construction of a new ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) of 4000 m3/d capacity.

After implementation of this scheme, cumulative oil production from the field is expected to be 20.46 MMt (ie, 38.2 per cent of OIIP) by the year 2029-30 - an incremental crude oil production of 3.44 MMt. ONGC board approved the scheme at a total capital expenditure of Rs1,162.56 crore with completion of facilities by Sep'20 and drilling of wells by March 2026.

The B-147 field, as a part of Bassein and Satellite Asset in Western Offshore, is being developed at a total estimated capital cost of Rs546.15 crore. The field is located about 110 km from the Mumbai shore at a water depth of about 70-77m.

The field, discovered in March 1991, is a marginal field, which would have been otherwise uneconomical to develop on a standalone basis. However, after creation of infrastructure in the nearby fields, there is an opportunity to develop this field by utilizing existing surface facilities in an optimized cost environment.

The B-147 development involves drilling of 3 new wells, installation of a new 4 slot well head platform with associated pipelines and modification in two existing platforms. The production envisaged is 0.489 MMt of oil and 0.708 BCM of gas during the project life with peak oil and gas production estimated at about 1,576 bopd and 0.25 MMSCMD respectively. The oil and gas from this project will be evacuated to ONGC's on land terminals at Uran and Hazira respectively. The project is scheduled for completion by November 2019 .

The BSE-11 block in Bassein and Satellite Asset is located between the giant Bassein gas field and Vasai East field falling in the Heera-Panna-Bassein block of Western Offshore. The block is located about 80 km from Mumbai shore at a water depth of about 40-45m. BSE-11 is being developed at a total estimated capital cost of Rs511.30 crore.

The project involves creation of facilities in the form of one new 6 slot wellhead platform along with associated pipeline, topside modification of two existing process platforms and drilling of two wells. Scheme envisages peak oil production of 1,000 bopd, peak condensate production of 1,808 bcpd and peak gas production of 0.34 MMSCMD. The cumulative oil production of 0.20 MMt, cumulative condensate production of 0.37 MMt and the cumulative gas production of 0.568 BCM is envisaged during the life of the project. The project is scheduled for completion by November 2019.

The 4th phase development of NBP field in Bassein and Satellite Asset is being taken up at a total estimated capital cost of Rs1,002.67 crore. The NBP (N B Prasad-D1) field, discovered in 1976 is situated in Deep Continental Shelf in Western Offshore Basin and located about 200 km from Mumbai city at a water depth of about 85-90m. As on date, the field is being exploited with 34 producers and 2 water injectors. The current oil production of the field is about 30,000 bopd.

The 4th phase of development of NBP field envisages drilling of 6 new wells with electrical submersible pump system, installation of 1 new well platform and 3 well clamp-on structure along with associated pipelines and power cables. The project is expected to give peak oil production of 4,890 bopd in the year 2019-20, with an incremental oil production of 2.08 MMt during the life of the project. The project is scheduled for completion by November 20'19.

ONGC has notified 2 more discoveries since 31 January 2017, which include the exploratory well AK-29(AKAP) in Akholjuni PML block, Cambay Basin in Anand district of Gujarat, which was drilled to a depth of 1550 m. Oil flowed at 44 m3/day through 6 mm bean. This discovery has opened up a new area for exploration in South of Akholjuni field.

Another exploratory well KH-38_Z (KHBB-Z) in Nambar ML block, South Assam Shelf (A&AA Basin) in Golaghat district of Assam was drilled to a depth of 2499 m. Oil flowed at 10.44 m3/day and gas at 34,000 m3/day through 6 mm bean. The success in this well has helped in establishing the Sylhet prospectivity in west Khoraghat sector of South Assam Shelf and will open new areas for Sylhet.

With this, ONGC has notified 18 discoveries (9 new prospects and 9 new pools) so far in FY'17 (7 in Q1, 4 in Q2, 5 in Q3 and 2 in Q4).