Lok Sabha Question No. 81 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-08
Subject: Gas Discoveries by ONGC
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Pratima Mondal, Sougata Ray

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *81 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08 th February 2024

## Gas Discoveries by ONGC

## *81. SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL:

## PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

## पेᮝोिलयम और ᮧाकृ ितक गैस मंᮢी

## Will the Minister of PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the ONGC had new gas discoveries in Bay of Bengal;
- (b) if so, the details of expected quantity of production from such new gas discoveries;
- (c)  the expected schedule of production from such new discoveries;
- (d)  the details of expected production of petroleum products domestically;
- (e)whether  the  new  discoveries  are  likely  to  help  the  country  to  stop/reduce  import  of petroleum products; and
- (f)   if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## पेᮝोिलयम और ᮧाकृ ितक गैस मंᮢी ( ᮰ी हरदीप ᳲसह पुरी )

## MINISTER OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)

- (a) to (f)  A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

**********

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (f) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  81  BY  SHRIMATI  PRATIMA  MONDAL  AND  PROF. SOUGATA RAY TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2024 REGARDING GAS DISCOVERIES BY ONGC.

- (a): Two  new  hydrocarbon  discoveries  in  Mahanadi  Offshore  (Deep  Water)  in  Bay  of Bengal  have  been  recently  announcedby  ONGC.  94%  of  this  block  area  was  earlier covered  under  'No-Go'  restrictions.  These  restrictions  were  done  away  with  by  the Government recently. The details of these discoveries are as under:
- (b)  to  (d):  These  new  discoveries  show  initial  signs  of  encouraging  potential  in  the  basin. Typically, any discovery of hydrocarbon, the expected schedule of production and quantity of production can only be determined after the completion of the Appraisal Programme, which is  designed  to  estimate  the  size,  shape,  and  characteristics  of  the  underlying  gas  reservoir. Once the technical feasibility of extracting hydrocarbon is established, thereafter, economic and commercial assessments are conducted to determine the viability of developing the field. These evaluation activities take many months to complete. Following these assessments, field development  plan  is  prepared  and  approved  by  the  Directorate  General  of  Hydrocarbons. Thereafter, field development activities are carried out. This process has to be completed for these new discoveries, namely, 'KONARK' and 'UTKAL', after which a firm schedule for commencement of production can be determined.

| S. No.   | Block            | Discovery       | Discovery    | Depth                                      | Type of       |
|----------|------------------|-----------------|--------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------|
|          |                  | Name            | Announced on |                                            | Discovery     |
| 1        | MN- DWHP- 2018/1 | MDW-27 / UTKAL  | 03.01.2024   | 2833 metres in water depth of 714 metres.  | Gas Discovery |
| 2        | MN- DWHP- 2018/1 | MDW-26 / KONARK | 15.01.2024   | 3855 metres in water depth of 1109 metres. | Gas Discovery |

(e)  to  (f):  Any  oil  and  gas  discovery  and  subsequent  commercial  production  will  add  to domestic production and contribute to reduced import of petroleum products. KG-DWN-98/2 Block in Krishna Godavari basin which was discovered earlier, has commenced commercial production of Oil this year with an initial production of ~11000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and  0.5  Million  Metric  Standard  Cubic  Meters  Per  Day  (MMSCMD)  of  associated  gas  is expected to reach a peak production of ~45000 bopd and 10 MMSCMD associated gas per day. This would add approximately 7% to the national Oil and Gas production. If these new promising gas discoveries  are also found  to be technically and commercially feasible after completion of appraisal programme they would add to domestic gas production.

*********