The KG-D5 block, which divided into the northern discovery area (NDA) and southern discovery area (SDA), is estimated to reach peak oil production capacity of 75,000 barrels per day and up to 17 million cubic meters of natural gas per day by 2020.
The announcement follows the government’s recent approval for the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), which allows marketing and pricing freedom for the crude oil and natural gas produced.
ONGC chairman and managing director Sarraf said: "With the new gas price announced by the government, our discoveries in the KG (Krishna Godavari) basin are now viable."
ONGC expects the new investment plan to increase its natural gas production by a quarter and crude oil production by almost 15% over the next four to five years.
Sarraf was quoted by The Hindu as saying: "Going by the confidence shown by the ONGC team, we have decided to develop the block on our own.
"All the technical expertise and project management consultants (PMC) are available in the market."
In particular, the firm plans to invest more than Rs300bn ($4.4bn) for the development of the KG DWN 98/2 by Fiscal year 2017.
Press Trust of India cited Sarraf as saying: "Over the next 15 years beginning 2020, we will see our output touching 23 million barrels of oil and 50.7 million cubic meters of gas from this field. We expect to achieve peak production levels by FY22."
Image: The D5 Block off the east coast of India is estimated to have a peak oil production capacity of 75,000 barrels per day. Photo: courtesy of num_skyman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
