In pics: ONGC begins production from Krishna Godavari basin in Bay of Bengal; why it’s ‘remarkable’

‘Remarkable step’: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced on Monday that it has begun oil production from its long-awaited deep-sea project in the Krishna Godavari basin in the Bay of Bengal. This development is expected to reverse years of declining output. The initial oil flow from the deep-water KG-DWN-98/2 block took place on January 7.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri confirmed the start of production in a post on X, but neither he nor ONGC provided specific information about the quantity of oil being produced.
“First Oil” production commences from the complex & difficult deepwater KG-DWN-98/2 Block, situated off the coast of Bay of Bengal. Production is expected to be 45,000 barrels per day & over 10 million cubic metres of gas per day, contributing towards an energy #AatmanirbharBharat. This project is expected to add 7% to current national oil production & 7% to national Natural Gas production!” Puri shared on X while also posting images of the oil.

According to ONGC’s statement quoted by PTI, the 98/2 project is projected to increase the company’s total oil and gas production by 11% and 15% respectively. In the fiscal year 2022-23, ONGC produced 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil and approximately 20 billion cubic metres per day of gas.
Puri stated that the Cluster-2 discoveries in the block are expected to yield a production of 45,000 barrels per day and over 10 million standard cubic metres per day of gas. However, no timeline was given for achieving these production levels.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha last month, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli stated that ONGC is set to commence commercial production of crude oil from the block in May 2024.

The KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 block is located adjacent to Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 block in the KG basin and contains several discoveries that have been grouped into clusters.
Despite various technological and Covid-related challenges, ONGC successfully completed Phase 1 of the project in March 2020, achieving the start of gas production from the U field of the KG-DWN-98/2 Block within a record time of 10 months. With the commencement of first oil on January 7, 2024, ONGC is nearing completion of Phase 2, which will lead to the commencement of oil production from the ‘M’ field of KG-DWN-98/2, ONGC stated.

The company further mentioned that the development of this field faced unique technical challenges due to the waxy nature of the crude.

The project is progressing as planned, with the final phase expected to be completed by mid-2024, enabling the production of oil and gas from the remaining fields of the block. The peak production of the field is anticipated to reach 45,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and over 10 million standard cubic metres per day of gas.