(ET)
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), India’s largest petroleum explorer, plans to drill 24 exploratory wells in a new block in Cauvery asset off the east coast won under the third round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) at a cost of Rs 672 crore
The block lies in onland part of Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga Districts in Tamil Nadu and in shallow offshore of Bay of Bengal. ONGC expects finding around 25-30 Million Tonne of Oil and Oil Equivalent of Gas reserves through drilling of the proposed wells. “Based on the Geological & Geophysical Studies in the area, five prospects have already been identified within the area. To test and establish the hydrocarbon potential within the block, ONGC is planning to drill 24 exploratory or appraisal wells (as per tentative plan),” the company said in an application to the environment ministry.
The company said it has already explored reserves in and around the block area under the nomination regime and persistent probing resulted in the discovery of Perungulam Field in 1994, Periyapattinam Field in 1997, Ramanavalasai Field in 1997, Kanjirangudi Field in 2001 and PBS-1-1 Field in 2001.
