ONGC to spend Rs 1000cr on exploration in Guj, Rajasthan

The western onshore basin of ONGC plans to spend Rs 1,000 crore on exploration in Gujarat and Rajasthan in two years, Basin Manager P B Pandey said today.

Talking to newsmen here on the occasion of 56th foundation day, Pandey said, "The basin has a target to drill 49 exploratory wells this financial year and also to deploy two 3D-3C, 5 3D and one 2D seismic crew for acquiring high resolution seismic data".

The target for drilling of wells is higher this year due to success in drilling of 43 exploratory wells last year, 21 of which were hydrocarbon bearing.

The success percentage of wells drilled to hydrocarbon bearing was 55.6 per cent which means that for every 1.8 wells drilled, one well was proved successful, said Pandey adding this ratio was considered quite creditable in the hydrocarbon industry.

The significant new finds of the basin in 2010-11, include Vadtal 1, Vadtal 3 and Aliabet 2, of which Aliabet promises to be good find for ONGC, Pandey said.

After failure of GSPCL in finding oil and gas from shallow water in Aliabet, ONGC took it over and started drilling wells there.

"We have started getting about 1.5 lakh cubic meter gas per day from two drilled wells in Aliabet, which promises to be a good find for us," Pandey said.

"Now we will take up a cluster of four wells in this region to save expenditure being incurred on exploration and will start commercial production from it after getting oil from it first, said Pandey.

Because of infrastructure problems and non-availability of shallow rig, the work of drilling of wells in Aliabet is getting delayed, he said.

After Ankleshwar and Gandhar oil and gas field, both Aliabet and Vadtal may turn out to be prospective oil and gas fields, Pandey hoped.

Pandey said a proposal has been sent to the government for increasing production of gas from the gas fields located at Gandhar, about 100 km from Vadodara.

The discovery of huge quantity of gas from the fields in Gandhar in 1983 changed the industrial scenario in Gujarat and other parts of the country as it turned out to be the best region for gas production in the country.

After 28 years since its inception, the production of gas from the Gandhar fields has started declining.

The same is the case with wells drilled in Ankleshwar region in neighbouring Bharuch district from where oil was struck in 1960.

Pandey said that wells are being drilled in the area to get more oil.

Meanwhile, commercial production of gas from three wells dug up in Kayavarohan village,about 15 km from Vadodara, will start soon, Pandey stated adding the company has also taken up of drilling of 8 wells in Padra taluka of the district.