The Hindu Business Line : ONGC close to striking gas in K-G 1 block

OIL and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd is said to be on the verge of striking gas at a field in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the country's eastern coast that could hold reserves of up to 8 trillion cubic feet (226.5 billion cu metres).

But, the company, which is in the midst of drilling the KG 1 block, says it is not yet time for "official confirmation" on the gas finds which could well be the second largest gas discovery in the country after Reliance Industries struck 14 trillion cubic feet of gas in 2002 in an adjacent block in the KG Basin.

"There is no official confirmation on the gas strike yet. The KG 1 block is under testing. We are interpreting whatever data we have acquired so far. But, the indications are very positive and we are optimistic of finding gas," an ONGC spokesperson told Business Line.

The KG 1 block was awarded to ONGC in 2004 under the fourth round of bidding for the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

The prospects of a huge gas find in the KG1 block comes at a time when ONGC is scouting for oil and gas properties abroad with investments of close to $20 billion in the next few years to meet India's burgeoning oil needs in the face of depleting oil reserves in the country. The country is 70 per cent dependant on imports to meet its oil consumption requirements.

The oil and gas major produced 26.7 million tonnes of crude and 25.70 billion cubic metres of natural gas during 2003-04.

On Wednesday, the company had signed a contract to appraise and develop an offshore oilfield in Qatar and according to the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, ONGC is still in the reckoning for a stake in Yugansk, the former core unit of Yukos, after the merger of Gazprom and Rosneft.

ONGC has stakes in projects in several countries, including Russia, Vietnam, Sudan, Myanmar and Australia.

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