ONGC eyes Iranian, Indian gasfields

NEW DELHI, October 26, 2016 – India’s largest oil and gas producer ONGC is seeking to explore Iranian gasfields and to expand activities in the northeastern Indian state of Tripura, Indian and international media reported on Wednesday.

By March 2017, India and Iran are aiming to finalise a deal for the development of the Farzad B gasfield offshore Iran, Reuters reported. A consortium led by ONGC discovered an estimated 531 bcm (18.8 tcf) of gas there in 2008, but international sanctions against the Iranian nuclear programme, which were repealed earlier this year, foiled previous attempts to develop the field.

Meanwhile the corporation brought in a rig from China to supplement its aggressive exploration programme in the state of Tripura near Bangladesh, India’s The Economic Times reported.

“The state has vast reserves of natural gas,” ONGC executive director S.C. Soni told journalists.

“From January [2017], the number of high-capacity rigs would be increased to eight from the existing four to further step up drilling operations in various parts of the state,” Soni added.

ONGC has recently undertaken an ambitious upstream exploration and development programme, purchasing stakes oil and gasfields in Russia and Mozambique and launching a USD 5-billion offshore development project in the Krishna-Godavari Basin off the east coast of India.

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