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ONGC to
drill 535
wells this
fiscal
ONGC drilled 503 wells at
a cost of approx Rs 14,200
crore which is 11.5% lower
than the budget outlay. The
initiatives taken by the
company to optimize cost
and enhance operational
efficiencies has yielded
additional savings in the
fiscal year ended March
31, 2018"
“We have taken measures
to improve our operational
efficiency by better
well designs, inducting
new technologies,
improving cycle-speed,
standardization of well
testing procedures and
minimizing idling period of
rigs”.
Shashi Shanker, CMD ONGC
By Niwedita Gupta
G
overnment-owned oil and
natural gas major Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) has set an ambitious target
to drill 535 wells this fiscal to boost
oil and gas production.
Twenty four out of these will be
deep-water development wells as
part of Cluster-2 development of
KG-DWN-98/2 project, off the East-
Coast of India. The company is also
set to drill 30 wells as part of its CBM
development project.
ONGC has set a capex outlay of Rs
17,615 crore on drilling activities this
fiscal. There is a significant upside in
the number of deepwater development
wells planned by the company.
In FY 2017-18, Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation Ltd (ONGC) drilled 503
wells, which is the highest number of
wells drilled in last 27 years.
Among the 503 wells, 119
exploratory and 384 development
wells were drilled.
During FY’18, ONGC’s planned
capex outlay on drilling activities was
Rs 16,038 crore with a target to drill
496 wells including 110 exploratory
and 386 development wells.
This is the second consecutive year
that ONGC has drilled over 500 wells.
Last year, the company drilled 501
wells at a cost of Rs 15,440 crore. This
comes at a time when the company is
looking to step up domestic output to
reduce 10 percent import dependence
by 2022.
What’s more remarkable is that
among the 119 exploratory wells
drilled, 8 were in the deep-water
fields against initial target of 6 and
45 in shallow-water fields against
target of 38.
In order to have a more focused
approach in drilling operations,
a new concept 'Company within
Company' was rolled out in Mumbai
High (MH) Asset to bring about
operational efficiency in offshore
drilling operations. “The plan has
already paid rich dividends as
MH Asset achieved highest-ever c
ycle and commercial speeds”, Mr
Shanker says.
38 | May 2018 | www.smartgovernance.in