ONGC turns to GSPC's undersea infra for KG gas output

New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to use undersea infrastructure of Gujarat firm GSPC to produce gas from its own KG-basin fields in the Bay of Bengal.

ONGC last year agreed to buy Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation's (GSPC) 80 per cent interest in the KG-OSN-2001/3 block, which sits next to the state-owned firm's KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 block.

"We have divided discoveries in KG-D5 into three groups. Cluster-1 finds can be tied up to GSPC block infrastructure," a company official said.

ONGC has finalised a USD 5.07 billion plan for developing the Cluster-II finds by 2019-20. First gas production is envisaged by June 2019 and oil will start flowing from March 2020, he said.

Cluster-1 includes fields D, E and G4. These fields are adjacent to Reliance Industries' KG-D6 block and ONGC has accused the Mukesh Ambani firm of draining gas from these by drilling wells close to the boundary.

"We are not touching the discoveries that have been drained out. The remaining ones in Cluster-1 will be tied up with GSPC facilities," the official said.

ONGC, which has firmed up an investment of Rs 34,012 crore (nearly USD 5 billion) in bringing to production 10 oil and gas discoveries in Cluster-II, plans to invest another Rs 21,528.10 crore in developing the ultra deep sea UD-1 find (Cluster-III) by 2022-23.

The 7,294.6 sq km deepsea KG-D5 block has been broadly categorised into Northern Discovery Area (NDA - 3,800.6 sq km) and Southern Discovery Area (SDA - 3,494 sq km). NDA has 11 oil and gas discoveries while SDA has the nation's only ultra-deepsea gas find of UD-1.

These finds have been clubbed into three groups - Cluster-1, Cluster-II and Cluster-III. From Cluster-II, a peak oil output of 77,305 barrels per day is envisaged within two years of start of production.

Gas output is slated to peak at 16.56 million standard cubic metres per day by 2021-end. The official said Cluster-1 field will be developed at an additional investment of Rs 4,259.59 crore and will produce about 3 mmscmd of gas.

Cluster-2A mainly comprises oil finds of A2, P1, M3, M1 and G-2-2 in NDA which can produce 77,305 bpd (3.86 million tonnes per annum) and 3.81 mmscmd of gas. Cluster 2B, which is made up of four gas finds -- R1, U3, U1, and A1 in NDA -- envisages a peak output of 12.75 mmscmd of gas. Peak output is likely to last seven years, he said.