OIL currently aims to produce 4 million metric tons of crude oil per year. | File photo
State-run exploration and production company Oil India Limited (OIL) is targeting drilling over 75 wells during the current financial year (FY25) as part of its new drilling programme, OIL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ranjit Rath said on Saturday.
The company had drilled 38, 45 and 61 wells in the last three years respectively, Rath said at a press conference after the annual general meeting here.
“From 45 to 61 wells, that represents a 35 percent annual growth. And this represents not only the number of wells, but also deeper and more complex wells,” Rath said.
“Over the last two years, we have grown by 5 to 6 percent in terms of crude oil and natural gas production. This is on top of a natural decline (in existing production) of 12 percent. So, net growth is 6 percent and gross growth is 18 percent,” Rath said.
OIL currently has a target of producing 4 million metric tons of crude oil per year.
“The Assam shelf is made up of huge piles of sand deposits. The southern bank of the Brahmaputra River offers us enough opportunities to explore and produce,” Rath said.
In the region, OIL is the only player that has attempted to carry out a near-surface exploration program within the oil mining concession. To do so, it uses multilateral wells, radial drilling and extended-reach drilling techniques, which require high-power drilling rigs.
“We’re still keeping the reserve-to-replacement ratio at plus or minus one,” Rath said.
He added that the company is producing oil and gas from deeper wells, at average depths of 3,000 to 4,500 meters, well below the previous depths of 2,000 to 3,500 meters. As a result, the company has prioritized access to the platforms.
“For the first time, we evaluated a seven-rig offering in just 48 hours, to achieve a change. If we don’t have a sufficient number of rigs, we can’t conduct in-depth exploration and development,” he stressed.
The company needs more platforms for wells like one it plans to drill to 6,500 meters, the deepest in the northeast of the country.
The company is studying the possibility of permanent carbon sequestration at its oil fields in Rajasthan.
NRL Expansion
The ongoing unrest in Bangladesh has also not slowed down the expansion process of the Numaligarh refinery, Rath said.
The company aims to commission the expanded Numaligarh refinery by December 2025. To build a refinery at Numaligarh, a large amount of oversized cargo needs to be shipped. Currently, cargo is being shipped from Haldia port in West Bengal, following the river flow along the international water treaty-based boundary to the Brahmaputra River, and then into a tributary river called Dhansiri before reaching the refinery site.
The 3 metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) refinery in Upper Assam is undergoing a major capacity increase to 9 MMTPA by setting up a 6 MMTPA capacity refinery and associated crude oil terminals and pipelines, considering processing of Arabian Light (AL) and Arabian Heavy (AH) crude oil. The project also includes a 1,635 km crude oil trunk line from Paradip port in Odisha to Numaligarh in Upper Assam, to transport 5.5 million tonnes of crude oil.
Both projects are integrated and will be completed as part of a phased mechanical completion and commissioning process, Rath said. Full-scale production will occur in fiscal year 2027 (2026-27).
On the other hand, while the 130-km long Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) continues to transport high-speed diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam to Bangladesh, only about 4,000 tonnes of crude oil is currently moving on the 1 million tonne capacity pipeline, Rath said.
First published: September 14, 2024 | 17:51 IS
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