BBN Bureau
NEW DELHI/May 26-2022: ONGC has drawn up a comprehensive roadmap to further intensify its exploration campaign, allocating a capital expenditure (Capex) of about Rs31,000 crore in the next three fiscal years – during FY 2022-25.
This was decided at ONGC’s 349th Board Meeting that was convened exclusively for firming its Future Exploration Strategy.
An ONGC official statement said the expenditure envisaged this time is 150 per cent of its exploration expenditure of Rs 20,670 crore for the last three fiscals during FY 2019-22.
ONGC also plans to leverage international collaborations with reputed global majors for this, and talks on the same are in an advanced stage.
This exploration intensification includes activities funded through ONGC’s internal program as well as funded and facilitated by the government, the statement said.
ONGC stated that under government-funded program for appraisal of unapprised offshore areas till Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 70,000 line-kilometres (LKM) of state-of-the-art 2D broadband seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation (API) will be done in three sectors namely West Coast of India, East Coast of India and Andaman offshore.
Seismic data acquisition
ONGC will complete the technical bid opening (TBO) for seismic data acquisition by June 2022. In Andaman Basin, ONGC presently holds two blocks for exploration under Open Acreage Licensing policy (OALP). Government of India has also acquired seismic data in some sectors within ‘No-Go’ areas and few prospects are already identified.
ONGC has plans to drill six wells in the next three years (two under ONGC committed work program and four through government funding).
Reputed global companies/consultants are being invited for the assessment of the basin for future exploration and exploitation plan.
ONGC’s internal program has three components; re-exploration of Mature Basins, consolidation of Emerging Basins and probing of Emerging and New Basins. Under this internal program, ONGC is trying to probe around 1700 million tonne of oil and oil equivalent gas (MMTOE) of Yet-To-Find (YTF) reserves during FY 2022-25.
The activities here include state-of-the-art 2D and 3D seismic survey, followed by drilling of around 115-120 wells with an estimated outlay of Rs10,000 crore every year for next three years. In addition, Government’s facilitation has resulted in release of about 96,000 sq. km area so far, which was earlier demarcated as ‘No Go’ zone.
“This will further help ONGC achieve its acreage acquisition program of bringing around 5,00,000 sq km under active exploration by 2025,” the ONGC said further.
