The Hindu Business Line : Cairn India’s Bhagyam field development gets clearance

Cairn India Ltd is targeting first half of 2010 to start production from Bhagyam field in its Rajasthan block. The company’s field development plan (FDP) for Bhagyam field has got the Government nod on Monday.

Bhagyam is the second largest field in the company’s Rajasthan block – RJ-ON-90/1. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Rahul Dhir, Chief Executive & Managing Director, Cairn India, said, “The company got the final approval on Monday. The FDP is on the basis of a planned plateau production rate of 40,000 barrels of oil per day.”

It is expected to cost the company an investment of close to $500 million over the life of the field.

The latest FDPs for the three main fields in the block assume a sustainable peak plateau production of 175,000 bopd - Mangala 125,000 bopd, Bhagyam 40,000 bopd and Aishwariya 10,000 bopd.

Mr Dhir said the company was targeting to bring Bhagyam onstream six months after Mangala field, which would be brought onstream in phases with production commencing in the second half of 2009. In Rajasthan, Cairn is the operator with 70 per cent stake, with remaining 30 per cent lying with ONGC 30.

As regards transportation of the crude from Rajasthan block, which will be via pipeline to the coast, he said work has already been started on the infrastructure development. The long lead procurement process is under way and construction is due to commence in the second half of this year.

Cairn is also studying the staged and early application of aqueous-based chemical flooding enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques for the Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields. “Early application of EOR in these fields would be designed to extend their crude oil production plateau periods, reduce water production, mitigate future decline rates and potentially accelerate crude oil production,” he said.

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