ONGC running out of time on ultra-deep gas find

By: Richa Mishra/Twesh Mishra, October 15, 2017

The clock is ticking for ONGC if it wants to become the country’s first hydrocarbon explorer to produce gas from the most challenging and only ultra-deepwater discoveries. 

Discovered in 2006 about 150 km off the Andhra Pradesh coast is ONGC’s ultra-deepwater find, called UD-1, in the Krishna-Godavari basin block KG-DWN-98/2. This block was awarded to ONGC under the New Exploration Licensing Round (NELP) and is governed by a production-sharing contract, which clearly defines a timeline for each activity. 

Though giving extensions are normal for such difficult finds, they cannot be granted forever, sources in Directorate General of Hydrocarbons said. ONGC had been going slow on this area of the block due to technological challenges. Only after the discovery is found to be commercially viable does the contractor submit a field development plan. 

The block is adjacent to the Reliance Industries Ltd-operated KG-D6 block and the GSPC block recently acquired by ONGC. 

“Till now we have been communicating to ONGC on technical issues, but now we have asked the company to come back again with its proposal seeking the commerciality of the find,” said a senior official in the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon. 

The find, since it was struck, has had its own share of controversy. Not only was it a challenge for the explorer, but in 2007 questions were also raised by the then DGH on the method of testing the find. The discovery was accepted only after the contractor had proven that it could flow the gas to the surface. 

Its recent proposal for Declaration of Commerciality was returned by the current DGH on the grounds that ONGC needs to come up with technical studies showing how it would flow the gas to the surface and the quantum of in-place reserve. 

According to ONGC, the major challenges were sub-zero temperatures and the water depths of 2,600-2,900 metres. The discovery, according to ONGC’s assessment, holds about one trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves. 

Officials in the ONGC believe that the time is right to go for this find. “The company will re-submit the declaration of commerciality proposal. It is also weighing the option of drilling more appraisal wells. We are confident of the results,” the official added. 

ONGC had geared itself up with studies of similar acreages, such as Perdido, Cascad & Chinook, and Independent Hub in Gulf of Mexico as well as Stones in the same region. In its declaration, ONGC had said it might process this gas by floating a production unit and evacuate through a pipeline.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India Joins Russia in Voting Against West-Backed Move to Expand Powers of OPCW

The Wire: June 28, 2018 New Delhi: India voted against a UK-backed move that will allow the global chemical weapons watchdog to apportion blame for illegal attacks, criticising the decision to grant “unchecked powers” to the head of the group which could be used for “partisan” purposes. On Wednesday, more than two-thirds of the member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) voted to authorise the international body to identify the perpetrators and sponsors of a chemical weapons attack. It also specifically called on the OPCW’s technical secretariat to begin work on identifying the perpetrators behind the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The draft decision, sponsored by 30 countries, was adopted at the fourth special session of the conference of the states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention at the Hague, with 82 in favour and 24 negative votes. While Europe, the United States and their allies voted ‘yes’, there was strong oppo...
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav...
Read more

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017...
Read more