India's EOGEPL books record annual profit

Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (EOGEPL), an Indian gas producer, on July 31 reported a record net profit of 3.35bn rupees ($40mn) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 (FY2023), representing a significant increase of 58% year/year due to reduced operating costs.

During the year, the company's revenue surged by 81% to reach 9bn rupees, while EBITDA rose by 205% yr/yr to 7bn rupees. In the January-March quarter (Q4), EOGEPL recorded a net profit of 0.83bn rupees.

EOGEPL has ambitious expansion plans, intending to invest 20bn rupees in the next 18 to 24 months to drill 200 more wells, the company told GasPathways recently.

The company operates the Raniganj coal bed methane (CBM) field, located in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. Currently, EOGEPL contributes approximately 65% to India's total CBM production, a figure expected to increase to 90% after drilling the additional wells. Their long-term goal is to contribute 5% to India's total gas production within the next five years.

To achieve these objectives, EOGEPL has partnered with global service providers and technical consultants to implement a phased growth programme. This includes drilling new directional and horizontal wells and expediting the development of the deeper CBM area of the Raniganj block.

EOGEPL has collaborated with Australian gas company Galilee Energy to explore opportunities for collaboration on their CBM assets in Australia and India. The company has also teamed up with Sensia, a digitalization solutions provider, to enhance its operations through the deployment of the latter's Avalon digital platform interface.