ONGC’s crude oil production to rise to 29 MLN tonnes by 2007

NEW DELHI, Feb 27, 2004 (Asia Pulse) — India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (BSE:ONGC) yesterday said its domestic crude oil production will rise by 12 per cent to 29 million tonnes by the end of 10th Five Year Plan period (2007) due to the Rs 100,000 million (US$2.2 billion) a year the company is investing in exploration and production.

The company, which currently produces 26 million tonnes of crude from its fields, would get another 1.25 million tonnes of crude a year as its share from the joint venture fields, ONGC chairman and managing director Subir Raha said here.

“In addition, we are targeting 10 million tonnes of crude by 2007 and 20 million tonnes by the end of 11th Five Year Plan from overseas oil fields,” he said.

ONGC will this year get 3.3 million tonnes of crude for its 25 per cent share in the Greater Nile Oil Project in the Sudan.

It has participating interests in oil and gas exploration blocks in Russia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Libya, the majority of which would begin production by 2007.

Raha said the company was investing Rs 100,000 million every year in exploration and production and the amount would go up substantially if it gets stake in more oil fields in the Sudan and Angola.

“We are investing Rs 82,000 million in reviving production from the ageing Mumbai High fields and the recovery has already gone up to 30 per cent from 28 per cent two years ago,” he said, adding that another Rs 40,000 million was being invested in the redevelopment of other domestic fields.

ONGC has launched an ambitious deep sea exploration campaign which has borne the first fruits in the shape of the discovery of 0.7 trillion cubic feet of gas fields in the Bay of Bengal.