After striking gas, ONGC drills second well in Aliabet

After striking gas in the very first attempt at Aliabet in Gulf of Cambay, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has started drilling second well there, a top official said.

ONGC struck gas on very first drilling conducted in its on-shore NELP Block CB-OSN-2003/1 and has applied to the oil regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to certify reserves.

"Couple of months ago we had struck gas in Aliabet, an estuary of Narmada, after which the second well is being drilled there," ONGC Director (Exploration) SV Rao told PTI.

"The block has crude equivalent to Nigerian Bonnylight crude, which is very much in demand in the international market," an ONGC official said.

The area had been explored earlier, as pre-NELP block CB-OS-I, by international exploration and production companies like Valco, Hardy Corp, and Enron, without any discovery.

"The second exploratory well is being drilled as a part of the minimum work programme (MWP) for the block. The idea is to delineate the reserves," official said.

According to ONGC, NELP block CB-OSN-2003/1 of Cambay Basin was drilled to a depth of 2,107 metres. One of the zones on testing produced 12,884 standard cubic metres gas per day.

"Two more zones are yet to be tested," an ONGC official said.