ONGC to invest Rs 41,678 crore on new fields

Oil & gas major will invest Rs 24,188 crore in development of six projects both on the east and west coast.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will invest Rs 41,678 crore for bringing to production newer oil and gas fields and redeveloping ageing fields as it looks to boost output.

The company, which produced 25.94 million tonnes of crude oil and 23.52 billion cubic meters of gas in 2014-15, is boosting investment to reverse the declining trend in output at bulk of its old and ageing fields.

ONGC will invest Rs 24,188 crore in development of six projects both on the east and west coast. Another Rs 17,490 crore will be spent on redeveloping its prime Mumbai High fields as well as Heera-South Heera fields in western offshore, a top company official said.

The biggest project is the western offshore Daman field development where Rs 6,086 crore is being invested to produce 27.67 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas by 2034-35.

"Production is expected by July 2016 at the rate of 2 million standard cubic meters per day and peak output of 8.35 mmscmd of gas and 9,286 barrels of condensate per day is likely by 2018-19. There is an upside potential of 10 mmscmd," he said.

In the neighbouring South Bassein field, Rs 4,620 crore is being invested in additional development by April 2017 for an incremental gas production of 18.83 bcm by 2030-31.

Also, Rs 2,477 crore additional development of Vasai East will give 1.83 million tonnes and 1.97 bcm of gas by 2029-30. The project will be completed by December 2018, he said.

The official said ONGC is investing Rs 1,881 crore in developing the Gamij oilfield near Ahmedabad.

Of the east coast, ONGC is investing Rs 4,124 crore in developing the Vashista and S-1 gas fields in Krishna Godavari basin. The project will be completed by April 2017 and give an incremental gas production of 15.96 bcm, he said.

Another Rs 5,000 crore is being spent on Krishna Godavari basin field of Nagyalanka which will start production from September next year.

The official said ONGC is investing Rs 5,813 crore in redeveloping the Mumbai High North field with a view to enhance recovery factor and increase the longevity of the prime asset.

"This project will also help to monetize untapped reserves," he said, adding that incremental production of 0.43 million tonnes of oil and 0.63 mmscmd of gas has already started and this will rise to almost 1 million tonnes of oil and 1.64 mmscmd of additional gas by FY18.

Similarly, Rs 6,069 crore was being spent on Mumbai High South fields and another Rs 5,608 crore in redeveloping the Heera and South Heera oil and gas field in the western offshore, he added.