India’s largest crude oil and natural gas company, the state-run ONGC, is undertaking various steps to increase production, supported by the government’s policy initiatives for increasing production of oil and natural gas, said the minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Rameswar Teli.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha on March 28, the minister said that the government has also provided functional freedom to national oil companies and has encouraged wider private sector participation.
“The decline in production of crude oil in recent years has been due to natural decline and increase in water cut in wells of matured fields. ONGC is undertaking various steps to increase the production by the redevelopment of existing matured fields and development of new/marginal fields,” the minister said.
The steps include development of discoveries in Krishna Godavari Basin, monetisation of discoveries in the nomination and New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) blocks, integrated development of fields, production enhancement contract in small fields, up-gradation/replacement of surface facilities etc. Un-viable small and marginal fields are developed through the cluster development concept.
ONGC is also inducting technology for improved oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery technologies for enhancing the recovery factor of matured fields.
ONGC’s crude oil production has gradually declined to 20.273 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2020-21 from 20.273 MMT in 2016-17. In the same period, the company’s natural gas production declined to 22.096 billion cubic metres (BCM) in FY 21 from 22.088 in FY17.
ONGC management earlier said it aimed at arresting the decline in production of oil and gas and scale it up gradually.
