Oil drilling ind sees higher demand in coming yrs

The drilling industry expects a healthy rise in demand for its services based on continuous and strong demand for petroleum and natural gas in the country, officials said.

"India's demand for petroleum and natural gas is expected to go up and correspondingly, there will be an increased demand for drilling rigs and related services. Despite massive imports, India will continue to look for energy resources within the country. So we expect to see an increased demand," Jubilant Enpro Deputy General Manager (Business Development) Anand Vatsa said at a recently concluded petroleum industry summit here.

According to a Jubilant presentation, ONGC is estimated to drill around 150 shallow water wells in the next five years and would have to engage around eight to ten chartered rigs per year in the mid-term.

Besides this, Jubilant expects around 40-50 exploratory wells to be drilled in the East Coast in the next three years.

"Exploration activities in the Andaman Islands have been initiated. The entry of British Petroleum, BHP and ENI will increase demand for drilling services. Around 17 to 18 chartered hired jack-up rigs would be required," he said.

Petroleum industry experts also seem to agree with Jubilant Enpro's assessment.

"Most of the wells to be drilled on the West Coast will be shallow water wells. I would put that figure at around 120 wells. Besides this, wells would also have to be drilled in the East Coast. So drilling contractors and rig charter companies seem to have a good opportunity," ONGC's former Director (Exploration), D K Pande, told PTI.