ONGC and Bharat Petroleum discover gas in Tamil Nadu

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) Wednesday said its partner Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered gas in one of its oil blocks in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district.

The block is held jointly by ONGC and Bharat Petroresources Ltd (BPRL), a subsidiary of BPCL. ONGC had previously entered into an exploration partnership agreement with BPCL for the Cauvery basin.

According to BPCL's note to National Stock Exchange, the exploration well in the block - MD 5 - was drilled down to a target depth of 2,175 metres and trapped natural gas in the block flowed at a rate of 61,800 cubic meters per day. It also showed the presence of condensate (a form of volatile light oil) at the rate of 9.6 cubic meters per day.

The discovery has been termed Thirunagari Gas Discovery after the name of the nearby village where the gas was found.

This is the second hydrocarbon discovery made by ONGC in the NELP-IV block. The first discovery in this block was made in October 2012, which established the presence of crude oil.

However, these sets of discoveries are exploratory in nature and the two companies will be starting the appraisal to find out the exact amount of reserves in the block. If found commercially viable, production may start from MD 5.

BPRL has a 40 percent interest in the block and the rest is held by ONGC.