Hydrocarbons found in Miocene off India

Sept. 13, 2005
The P1-A deepwater well on Block D6 in the Krishna-Godavari basin off eastern India became the first hydrocarbon discovery in the Miocene interval, said participant Niko Resources Ltd., Calgary.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 13 -- The P1-A deepwater well on Block D6 in the Krishna-Godavari basin off eastern India became the first hydrocarbon discovery in the Miocene interval, said participant Niko Resources Ltd., Calgary.

The well, operated by Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, is the 15th straight successful exploration well drilled on the block (see map, OGJ, July 18, 2005, p. 34).

Log analysis at the well, the first drilled on newly acquired 3D seismic data, indicated several hydrocarbon bearing zones over a 600-m interval, Niko said.

The partners already have discovered several trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas on the block, and the well results "have a significant impact on the future exploration potential of the D6 block," Niko said.

"Hydrocarbons were found in the Pliocene/Pleistocene section, which confirms extension into the deeper water of the geologic environment, which contains all the hydrocarbons discovered to date in D6," Niko said.

"Further, the deepest discovered hydrocarbons were found in the older Miocene interval and marks the first time hydrocarbons have been discovered in this time period. This opens up significant additional new exploration potential in the deeper water portions of D6."