India: Krishna-Godavari Basin May See Investment of Over $14-bn

The Krishna-Godavari basin is likely to see total investment outlay of over $14-bn by 2021-2023 by two oil and gas exploration and production companies, according to India’s Director General of Hydrocarbons, Mr. Atanu Chakraborty.

According to field development plans of ONGC, there could be a production of 15-18-mn standard cubic metres per day (mscmd), while another major player (Reliance Industries) may produce about 25-30-mscmd. Together, these two players have plans to produce more than 40-43-mn tonnes of oil equivalent from the Krishna-Godavari basin, which has huge potential, said Mr. Chakraborty. In addition to these two majors, investments are also under way from other players too.

Speaking after a meeting hosted by the Oil Ministry to share the progress made under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), the DG said, “While it is a fact that the gas production has dropped significantly in the Krishna-Godavari basin from a peak of 65-mscmd due to various reasons, including high pressure, high carbon dioxide, high temperature and hostile deep water environs ranging from 1,200 metres to 2,600 metres, we expect to see more investment and more output from the basin, which holds immense potential for the country.”

Mr. Chakraborty said the KG basin attracted interest from global players in the ongoing OALP bid round-I. “There has been tremendous response for the OALP bid round-I, where very large entities from India and abroad have sourced and viewed data,” he said.

Mr. Chakraborty said the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) saw more than 120 entities seeking data from the National Data Repository pertaining to 55 blocks on offer, of which 5 were in the KG basin with prognosticated resources of 9,555-mn metric tonne of oil equivalent.

Bidding in the auction of the 55 blocks on offer under OALP bid round-I was to originally close on April 3 but DGH has extended it to May 2.