ONGC puts DeenDayal gas field stake on the block
After 7 years and $1.2-bn investment, the State-owned firm seeks EoIfrom global oil and gas companies to join it as partners
New Delhi: After spending close to $1.2 billion and seven years of little success, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is seeking partners to rescue the DeenDayal gas field in the KG basin in Bay of Bengal.
ONGC on June 12 sought expression of interest from global oil and gas companies with requisite technical expertise and financial strength to join as partner (with participative interest) for firming up a viable strategy for the field, according to the tender document.
The field has produced negligible quantities of gas since ONGC in January 2017 acquired Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation’s (GSPC) 80 per cent interest in the KG-OSN-2001/3 block off the east coast of India. The block contains the DeenDayal West (DDW) gas/condensate field which was discovered by GSPC almost two decades back.
The Gujarat government company had showcased the field as a promising prospect when it sold its stake to ONGC in order to cut its debt. The field, which was initially said to hold up to 20 trillion cubic feet of in place gas reserves - by far the biggest in any deepsea field in the country - but later trimmed to a tenth, has proved to be tougher than anticipated.