New Delhi

State-run Oil India (OIL) has planned to increase drilling operations with the exploration and production (E&P) major planning to drill more than 60 wells in the current financial year from 45 in FY23.

The company, which was accorded the Maharatna status last month, aims to surpass 4 million tonnes (mt) in crude oil production and 5 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas output by FY25.

Speaking to reporters, OIL CMD Ranjit Rath said that a target is always aspirational. If a target is not aspirational, then it is not a target. Oil India’s aspiration aided it to raise production to 3.2 mt in FY23.

In FY23, its cumulative oil production rose 5.5 per cent y-o-y to 3.176 mt against 3.010 mt in FY22, which is the highest in the last four years.

“What we are looking at is a couple of things. First, a year before FY23, we had undertaken drilling of about 38 in number. In FY23, we drilled 45 wells. That’s a healthy mix of exploratory and production or development plans. This year (FY24), in the main producing area, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, we plan to drill 60 plus wells,” he added.

Raising output

Indicating that oil exploration takes time, Rath pointed out that recent discoveries, depending on size of the field, would have a gestation period of 5-6 years, for off-shore fields or 3-4 years for on-shore. Very small fields can get into production in about 24 hours.

Elaborating on the company’s strategy to increase output, the CMD said that OIL has already placed the letter of award (LoA) for two additional drilling rigs and has extended the current tenure of the rigs already in operation. Besides, the company has also gone to the market to source more drilling rigs.

“We are now looking at near-field exploration, which we strongly believe will create more prospectivity and more wells. We are also looking at infield locations within the producing fields, which would be a sure shot production possibility and that will add to output,” he added.

For its hydro-fracking initiative, OIL is about to place the LoA and the initiative will come on stream by Q4 FY24 or early FY25.

“We are also hopeful that by December 2023, we will have the gas pipeline getting connected from the Kumchai field to the main producing areas. As we speak, we are also looking at a couple more development wells, which will come on-stream. Out of the 5-6 fields that we have identified, three have been given through production enhancement contracts, and they will start producing. We have identified Lakwagaon as one of our focus areas. Sesabil area in the Assam Shelf Basin, which was a discovery reported in January this year, would also have a couple of more drilling possibilities,” Rath noted.

OIL is also looking at Baghjan as a potential gas field and there is already a sign of more production from the company’s Rajasthan fields, he added.

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