ONGC tumbles on plan to invest Rs 31,000 cr in finding oil, gas

27 May 2022 , 10:48 AM

The state-run oil major said it has drawn up a comprehensive roadmap to further intensify its exploration campaign, allocating a capital expenditure of about Rs 31,000 crore in the next three fiscal years during FY 2022-25. This is 150% of its exploration expenditure of Rs 20,670 crore in the last three fiscals during FY 2019-22, it said in a statement on Thursday. ONGC said it also plans to leverage international collaborations with reputed global majors for this, for which talks are in an advanced stage. This exploration intensification includes activities funded through ONGCs internal program as well as funded and facilitated by the government, the company said in a statement. Under government-funded program for appraisal of unapprised offshore areas till Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 70,000 line kilometers (LKM) of 2D broadband seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation (API) will be done in three sectors namely West Coast of India, East Coast of India and Andaman offshore. ONGC will complete the technical bid opening (TBO) for seismic data acquisition by June 2022. In Andaman Basin, ONGC presently holds two blocks for exploration under Open Acreage Licensing policy (OALP). Government of India has also acquired seismic data in some sectors within No-Go areas and few prospects are already identified. ONGC has plans to drill six wells in the next three years (two under ONGC committed work program and four through government funding). Reputed global companies/consultants are being invited for the assessment of the basin for future exploration and exploitation plan. ONGCs internal program has three components; re-exploration of Mature Basins, consolidation of Emerging Basins and probing of Emerging and New Basins. Under this internal program, ONGC is trying to probe around 1700 million tonne of oil and oil equivalent gas (MMTOE) of Yet-To-Find (YTF) reserves during FY 2022-25. The activities here include 2D and 3D seismic survey, followed by drilling of around 115-120 wells with an estimated outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore every year for next three years, ONGC said. Maharatna ONGC is the largest crude oil and natural gas company in India, contributing around 71% to Indian domestic production. It has in-house service capabilities in all areas of exploration and production of oil & gas and related oil-field services. The Government of India held 58.91% stake in ONGC as of March 2022. The companys consolidated net profit surged to Rs 10,931.61 crore in the quarter ended December 2021 as against Rs 2,518.11 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2020. Sales rose 45.27% to Rs 1,45,685.58 crore in Q3 FY22. The company will announce Q4 results on 28 May 2022. Powered by Capital Market – Live News