State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is expected to submit the field development plan (FDP) for the world’s second deepest hydrocarbon discovery in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin by January 2026, Parliament was informed on Monday.
The exploration and production (E&P) major is the operator of the block KG-DWN-98/2, which consists of three clusters of discoveries—Cluster I, II & III, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Rameswar Teli said in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha.
“In Cluster-III, there is one ultra-deepwater gas discovery, which would be the second deepest hydrocarbon discovery in the world when monetised. The FDP is scheduled to be submitted by January 2026,” he added.
Operationalising blocks
Explaining the process for operationalising the blocks, the Minister said after the discoveries are made in any block, the operator is required to submit FDP for approval by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).
“Thereafter, the operator commences production facility development followed by testing and commercial production. Cluster I consists of 3 discoveries. FDPs of 2 discoveries were approved in 2019. This project is currently in the development stage,” Teli said.
“In Cluster II, commercial production from one gas field has already commenced from March 2020 and commercial production of crude oil is scheduled for May 2024. The project is likely to achieve full completion by 2024,” the Minister added.
Delays
On the delays in operationalising the blocks, the Minister explained that the KG-DWN-98/2 block is an offshore project with challenging geology.
“Delays have occurred due to multiple challenges and issues in actual project implementation such as sub-surface geological issues, shifting of well locations and surface facilities/processing platform, delays and disruption in project supply chain for vendors spread across multiple countries due to Covid-19 pandemic and challenging weather conditions,” he explained.