ONGC expects commissioning of oil production from KG Basin in May-June

Representative image (Source: Reuters)

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) expects commissioning of oil production from the KG Basin in the month May or June of 2023, the company said in an investor call on February 15.

“We are expecting our first oil (from KG Basin) by May or June 2023 and you will be getting free gas production in May 2024,” said Pawan Agarwal, Chief Corporate Planning and Strategy, ONGC.

In 2023, ONGC will benefit from the incremental oil production from KG Basin, added Agarwal.

The oil and gas major was initially expected to begin gas production from the Cluster-II fields of KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 project in June 2019, while oil production was anticipated to begin from March 2020. However, the company missed the deadlines.

ONGC blamed the coronavirus restrictions, engineering changes and project execution challenges for the delay.

The oil giant on February 14 reported a standalone profit of Rs 11,045 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022 (Q3FY23), registering a growth of 26 percent over the Rs 8,764 crore profit it registered in the year-ago period.

Standalone revenue for the state-run oil and gas major surged 36 percent to Rs 38,583 crore from Rs 28,473 crore in the year-ago period. The growth in revenue and earnings was driven largely by a surge in APM gas prices compared to last year.​