India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. plans five development projects with a total estimated cost of $1.1 billion. Four are off the west coast and one is in the western state of Gujarat.
ONGC’s board approved an investment of $617 million for development of the R-Series fields, which lie in 50 m of water. The area is 130 km southwest of Mumbai and 40 km from Heera field.
The R-Series project includes drilling and completion of 22 producers and nine water-injectors, installation of five platforms, “revival” of one platform, and a jack up mobile offshore production unit with processing facilities. Oil and natural gas will be sent to the existing Heera complex. The project includes revival of R-12, which produced between 1983 and 1994.
A second area of investment is redevelopment of the Santhal oil field in Gujarat with a cost of $175 million for construction of certain facilities, upgrades to others, and the drilling of 129 wells. Santhal is in the heavy-oil belt in the northern part of the Cambay basin, with crude having 17° gravity. It began producing in 1974, and in-situ combustion was implemented in 1997 as an enhanced oil recovery technique.
In NBP field, ONGC plans to invest $151 million for a fourth development phase. The NB Prasad-D1 project includes the drilling of six wells and installation of a platform, pipelines, and power cables. The field has 34 producers, two water injectors, and current production of about 30,000 b/d. NBP field was discovered in 1976 in the Western Offshore basin in 90 m of water.
B-147 field will get $82 million for drilling of three wells, installation of a four-slot wellhead platform with associated pipelines, and modifications in two existing platforms. Discovered in 1991, B-147 is 110 km from Mumbai in 77 m of water. Oil and gas will be transported to land terminals at Uran and Hazira, respectively.
ONGC said B-147 is a marginal, uneconomic field on a standalone basis, but the opportunity to develop it came after creation of systems in nearby fields.
Development of the BSE-11 block is expected to cost $77 million. The project involves creation of a six-slot wellhead platform and associated pipeline, topsides modifications of two existing process platforms, and drilling of two wells in 45 m of water. Located between Bassein gas field and Vasai East field, BSE-11 is 80 km from Mumbai (OGJ Online, Nov. 7, 2011).
ONGC said NBP, B-147, and BSE-11 are slated for completion in late 2019, while the R-Series project has a 2021 target completion date. Facilities work in Santhal field is scheduled for completion in 2020 and the drilling of wells by 2026.