India's ONGC Plans to Double Gas Output
Indian state-owned ONGC plans to double its natural gas production from the present 24bn m3 to 50bn m3 in the next three to four years, company chairman Shashi Shanker said May 22 at a function in Rajahmundry in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Businessline reported the same day.
He said that the Krishna-Godavari basin in offshore Andhra Pradesh plays a crucial role in the endeavour to secure the energy security of the country. Gas production from NELP Block KG-DWN-98/2 in deep waters off Kakinada is expected to commence from 2019 and ONGC would produce 25.87 million metric tons of oil and 45.28bn m3 of gas by 2034-35 from the field, he said, adding that rupees 330bn ($4.9bn) would be spent on developing the offshore fields in the K-G basin.
On shale gas, he said preliminary exploratory efforts were being made in the state of Gujarat, but they were still at a very nascent stage, the newspaper reported.
India’s domestic gas output has been stagnant for many years and the country is reliant on imported LNG to meet the local demand. However, the government has been formulating policies to encourage energy firms to produce more gas, both conventional and unconventional, locally. Recently, BP and its Indian partner Reliance Industries sanctioned the development of the Satellite cluster project in KG D6 block in KG basin.