ONGC pumps first gas from U1B deep-water well in KG basin

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has pumped first gas from its deep-water U1B well in Krishna Godavari block KG-D5 in the Bay of Bengal. The well, in KG-DWN 98/2 Block's Cluster-2, has an estimated peak production of 1.2 million cubic meters per day of gas, the company said in a statement.

"Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Tarun Kapoor flagged off maiden production from the deep-water gas well U1B on August 31," it said.

ONGC's KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 block, which sits next to Reliance Industries' KG-D6 block in the KG basin, has a number of discoveries that have been clubbed into clusters.

The discoveries in the block are divided into three clusters- Cluster-1, 2 and 3. Cluster 2 is being put to production first.

The Cluster 2 field is divided into two blocks namely 2A and 2B, which are expected to produce 23.52 million metric tonne of oil and 50.70 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas.

Oil production is likely to start shortly.

The firm is investing USD 5.07 billion in developing the oil and gas discoveries in the block. It will cumulatively produce around 25 million tonne of oil and 45 billion cubic meters of gas with a peak production of 78,000 barrels per day of oil and 15 million standard cubic meters per day.

U1B is the deepest well of the Cluster.

Dedicating the gas well to the nation, Kapoor congratulated Team ONGC led by its chairman Subhash Kumar.

He said the extensive experience of ONGC in exploration and production (E&P) brings confidence in the successful operation of the deepwater gas well.

Stating that there is a lot of production potential in deep-water, he said this monetisation holds special national significance as the first priority of the government is to ensure enhancement of domestic production and reduction of oil and gas imports.

"We look forward to production enhancement, especially from ONGC," he said expressing hope for monetisation of many more such wells in the near future.

The KG-DWN 98/2 block is situated offshore the Godavari river delta in the Bay of Bengal. It is located 35-km off the coast of Andhra Pradesh in water depths ranging from 300-3,200 meters.

Cluster 2A is estimated to contain reserves of 94.26 million tonne of crude oil and 21.75 bcm of associated gas, while Cluster 2B is estimated to host 51.98 bcm of gas reserves.

Cluster 2A is anticipated to produce 77,305 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and associated gas at a rate of 3.81 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) over 15 years.

Cluster 2B is expected to produce free gas of 12.75 mmscmd from eight wells and has a 16-year life.