ONGC strikes oil in western onshore basin

The country’s biggest oil explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) , has discovered oil in a block on the western onshore basin, which the company had won under the sixth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (Nelp), a company release said.

The exploratory well Vadatal-1 in Nelp Block CB-ONN-2004/2 in the Tarapur area of the western onshore basin was found to be oil-bearing and on conventional testing the well indicated a potential of 278 barrels per day. “The discovery has opened up a large area for exploration and is under further assessment of its extent and potential,” the release said.

The company board has also approved an investment of Rs 372.11 crore for development of BHE and BH-35 fields in Mumbai High South Field. BHE was first discovered in 1976 and was again taken up for delineation in 1983 but was not deemed economically viable at the then prevailing prices of oil and gas.

These fields are estimated to have a potential to produce 0.422 million tonnes of oil and 0.529 billion cubic metres of gas, respectively, over a period of 8 years. At its peak, the fields will produce 2,500 barrels oil per day and 250,000 cubic metres of gas.

ONGC has decided to locate a well platform with minimum facilities between BHE and BH-35 fields and drilling directional wells to produce oil and gas from the two fields and evacuate the oil and gas to SH Complex which is located only 10 kms from BHE.