Comments
Imperial Energy, subsidiary of ONGC Videsh Ltd, is betting big on shale oil to boost production from its asset in Tomsk region of Western Siberia, Russian Federation.
For this, Imperial is likely to rope in a global energy company as equity partner.
Experiencing a dip in output, the company has identified a new area in its block with Bazhenov shale formation.
Imperial Energy Corporation, an independent upstream oil exploration and production company, was acquired by ONGC Videsh in 2009.
Imperial has already floated an expression of interest (EoI) to which global companies have responded.
According to reports, the Bazhenov shale formation is said to be the world’s single biggest reserve, and is expected to do for Russia what Bakken Shale did for the US.
“We have worked out a business model where a company would come with its technology for drilling and fracking (required to exploit shale reserves).
“Seeing the enthusiasm of these companies (that have responded to EoI) and our technical team, we might consider offering them equity also. We hope to complete the process in another month or so,” said D. K. Sarraf, Managing Director and CEO, ONGC Videsh.
Imperial’s Tomsk asset has 17 fields of which five are main producing fields. The current output is 10,000-15,000 barrels of oil a day, lower than its initial estimates.
Oil output
According to Imperial, business plan fulfilment with respect to oil output last year resulted in 0.621 million tonnes (mt) of oil produced.
Oil production this year, based on the approved business plan, is expected to be 0.512 mt.
The general reduction of scope for oil production is related to the search for optimal and economically feasible technologies of oil recovery from tight reservoirs, the company has said.
Latest Technologies
Sarraf said the Imperial management plans to find cutting-edge technologies and, together with the technology partner, launch pilot projects for development of shale formation.
A decade ago, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling (to exploit shale reserves) was thought to be impossible.
But, today, it has revolutionised the oil industry.
Hydraulic fracturing involves the use of water pressure to create fractures in rock that allow the oil and natural gas it contains to escape and flow out.
“We want to start work this winter. If this is successful, it can change the total scenario for Imperial. At this moment, though we are hopeful… we are cautious about it,” said Sarraf.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.