ONGC Videsh strikes oil in Columbia block
OVL holds 70% participating interest in the block located at llanos basin
ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has struck oil at CPO-5 block in Colombia.
OVL holds 70% participating interest in the block which is located at llanos basin of Colombia. The project was under phase 1 of exploration having commitment of drilling two exploratory wells. According to a statement, the first of the two commitment wells Kamal-1X, was spudded on October 29, 2012 and drilled up to the target depth of 10,500 feet.
The oil is heavy in nature with American Petroleum Institute or API gravity of about 14. To assess the potential and commerciality of the oil find, extended production testing will be taken up in due course for the remaining object within upper Mirador Formation at a depth of 9,533 feet, the statement said.
The wholly-owned subsidiary of ONGC got 100% participating interest in CPO-5, following a bidding in 2008. It later hived off 30% stake to Petrodorado Energy Ltd to reduce investment risks involved in undertaking exploratory activities. Till last financial year, OVL had invested about $18.39 million for the block.
Meanwhile, the Company is gearing up for spudding the second commitment well in the block in January 2013.