ONGC to start production in KG basin block by 2016-17

It has found 4.85 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in nine gas discoveries it has made in the block

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) today said it will start producing natural gas from a block that sits next to Reliance Industries' flagging KG-D6 fields in Bay of Bengal by 2016-17.

ONGC has found 4.85 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in nine gas discoveries it has made in the Krishna-Godavari basin block KG-DWN-98/2.

"The block is targetted for production by 2016-17 and a peak production of 22 million standard cubic meters per day is envisaged," ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva told reporters here.

The company has submitted Declaration of Commerciality for the Northern and Southern Discovery Area in the block.

Seven of the finds are in the northern part of the block.

Gas from these is proposed to be produced by combining them with a gas discovery in the adjacent block, he said.

G-4 gas discovery in a neighbouring block is planned to be developed along with finds in the Northern Discovery Area of KG-DWN-98/2.

Once the government approves the commercial viability of the finds, ONGC will make a formal field development plan (FDP) outlining the specifics of producing gas from the find.

The Northern Discovery Area (NDA) consists of the Padmawati, Kanakadurga, Annapurna, D/KT, U, A, W and E gas finds in water depths ranging from 594 metres to 1,283 metres. The Southern Discovery Area consisting of the UD-1 discovery falls in ultra-deepwater with a depth of 2,841 metres.

The official said ONGC has time till November 2013 to apprise the discoveries. The firm plans to drill 8 wells to appraise or re-ascertain the commerciality of the finds - six in NDA and two in SDA.

The appraisal has begun.

Vasudeva said ONGC was investing Rs 31,000 crore in developing 37 fields to produce 40 million tons of oil and 64 billion cubic meters of gas beginning this fiscal.

ONGC, he said, produced 5.93 million tons of crude oil in first quarter of current fiscal as compared to 5.64 million tons in the same period a year ago. Gas output was however lower at 5.60 billion cubic meters from 5.92 bcm in Q1 of last fiscal.