India’s ONGC Plans $1.1B Investment To Ramp Up Oil, Gas Output

India’s top oil and gas explorer, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), approved on Thursday investments of US$1.1 billion (73.27 billion rupees) to develop five oil and gas projects that would raise the country’s oil and gas production.

More than half of the investment will go to the development of the R-12 (Ratna) field, expected to start producing oil by 2018/19. ONGC expects the field’s peak production rate of 14,583 bopd to be reached in 2019-20. As part of the development plan, 31 wells will be drilled and completed, the company said.

The other projects are the redevelopment of the Santhal oil field of Mehsana Asset in North Gujarat; the B-147 field, as a part of Bassein & Satellite Asset in Western Offshore; the BSE-11 Block in Bassein and Satellite Asset; and the 4th phase development of NBP field in Bassein and Satellite Asset.

Last September, ONGC said it would invest US$5.1 billion (340.12 billion rupees) over the next four years in the development of a deepwater oil and gas block off India’s east coast.

India is seeking to boost domestic production as it is trying to reduce its dependence on oil imports as oil demand continues to grow.

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Last year India’s oil consumption growth reached a record-level 11 percent as an increasing urban population with rising income fueled greater use of cars, trucks, and motorbikes. Demand growth is seen rising further as the growing population and more urbanized population further drives India’s oil demand. Currently, more than 80 percent of India’s oil needs are met by oil imports.

This year, for the third year in a row, India’s oil demand growth will outpace China’s, S&P Global Platts said in its Oil and Gas Outlook 2017 in early January. Platts Analytics expects a 7-percent rise to 4.13 million bpd in Indian oil demand, compared with a 3-percent rise in Chinese oil demand to 11.50 million bpd this year.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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