India's ONGC Receives Nod for Exploratory Drilling in Offshore KG Block

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) (BSE: 500312) (Dehradun, Uttarakhand) is set to undertake a major exploratory drilling in an offshore block in the Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

The block "KG-DWN-98/2," located off the coast of Godavari Delta in the eastern coast of India, was allotted in the first round of bidding under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 2000. The block covers 7,294 square kilometers. The block was awarded to Cairn Energy India Limited (CEIL) (BSE: 532792 ) (Gurgaon, Haryana) on sole ownership basis by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) (New Delhi) in the first round of bidding, under the country's New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). ONGC in 2005 acquired operatorship of the block.

The project involves drilling of 10 additional exploratory wells which are likely to entail an investment of $600 millions. ONGC already has acquired environmental clearance for the drilling work from the country's Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) (New Delhi).

According to ONGC, the exploration work would involve site preparation, well foundation, rig building, drilling as well as restoration of the well site. Both water and synthetic-based mud drilling will be used in the project. The total water requirement for the project has been estimated at 30 cubic meters per day (m3/day) per well. The depth of wells will vary from 3,000 to 6,000 meters. The power requirement for the project would be met through four Diesel Generator (DG) sets of 1,430 kilo Volts (kV) each.

ONGC is India's leading oil and gas exploration company. ONGC has, so far, produced about 600 million metric tons of crude oil and supplied more than 200 billion cubic meters of gas since its inception. The company is involved in exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India and also owns and operates more than 11,000 kilometers of pipelines in the country.

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