The Hindu Business Line : Output from Panna-Mukta to resume in 15 days

According to sources, the joint venture had recently approached the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons with a proposal to resume partial production of 17,000-20,000 barrels
of oil from Panna-Mukta, as early
as last week.

Pratim Ranjan Bose

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Kolkata, June 27

Panna-Mukta-Tapti (PMT) joint venture of British Gas, ONGC and Reliance will take another 10-15 days to resume oil and gas production from the Panna-Mukta field.

Panna-Mukta is under temporary shutdown following an explosion on a platform, damaging the gas de-hydrating and other allied facilities on June 5. Production, however, continues from the Tapti field.

PMT joint venture produces about 17 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd) of natural gas and 50,000 barrels of oil daily from the fields. Of the total Panna-Mukta field generates 40,000 barrels of oil and 5.5 mscmd of gas.

While gas is marketed through GAIL, oil is sold to IndianOil.

Reduced supply

Shutdown of the field has resulted in 20-25 per cent reduction in gas supplies to a number of consuming companies, including Reliance, GSPC, Gujarat Gas Company (a city gas distribution of subsidiary of BG), and others by GAIL.

According to sources, the joint venture recently approached the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons with a proposal to resume partial production of 17,000-20,000 barrels of oil from Panna-Mukta, as early as last week.

The proposal, however, did not find favour with DGH as it would have resulted flaring of about one mscmd of associated gas leading to environmental pollution and wastage of natural resources.

“We are ready to resume 17,000-20,000 barrels of oil production from Panna-Mukta.

“However, as the gas dehydrating facility is yet to be replaced, any such production would have required flaring of approximately one mscmd associated gas,” a PMT source told Business Line.

The joint venture is now expecting to replace the necessary equipment in the next two weeks so as to resume production at full capacity from Panna-Mukta by the second week of July.