India is making a significant push for oil and gasoline exploration in the Andaman deep water basin as the government aims to fund an ONGC- led drilling marketing campaign and ease permissions.
The government’s goal to boost domestic production of oil and gasoline and minimize imports at a time when high petrol prices are frustrating customers centres on accelerating exploration at a breakneck speed.
ONGC expected to drill 3–4 wells in the Andaman Sea
Plans to launch the drilling campaign in the Andaman offshore after the monsoon and has recently started speaking with ExxonMobil and Shell to include them in the project, according to them. ONGC is expected to drill 3–4 wells in the Andaman Sea as part of the specific government-funded programme, with each well costing roughly Rs 350–400 crore.
The government has received 2D seismic data totaling 22,500 line kilometres beneath its “National Island Exploration Project” across an area designated as a “No-Go” zone and is preparing to fund the drilling of a few evaluation wells there.
Second opinion from foreign companies
Although ONGC has analysed the data, it wants a second opinion from foreign companies with deep-water experience. According to other people cited above, it intends to engage foreign firms or professionals for research on petroleum device modelling, a review of the Andaman basin, and the de-risking of known possibilities before drilling.
ONGC has initiated discussions with ExxonMobil and Shell to hunt their perspectives at the Andaman possibilities in addition to rope them in as companions in the event that they display pastime within the venture, they stated.
According to other sources, the government has clearances for the defence and area divisions equipped. The exploration activity in the Andaman waters has previously been hindered by the difficulty of obtaining such licences. If a significant discovery is made during the planned drilling programme, the Center may also be functioning under the conditions necessary to grant the operator long-term permissions.
ONGC already has two blocks in the Andaman Sea
In the Andaman Sea, ONGC already has two blocks that were granted through open acreage licensing rounds. In addition to this, ONGC and Oil India each have one block in the Andaman offshore that they acquired through licensing rounds in the past. The two businesses will grow more quickly in their respective blocks if clearances are made easier.
High oil and gasoline costs have lent urgency to the government’s exploration push, which in recent times has concerned the award of huge acreages to state and personal firms and the release of the government-funded plan to obtain huge geological knowledge to spot hydrocarbon possible around the nation.
