ONGC’s KG project on the hook!

State-run oil major’s 1st deepsea project in the KG basin was hit when a floating oil storage vessel got entangled with fishing nets, prompting the state-owned firm to seek help from the Indian Navy

New Delhi: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) first deepsea project in the KG basin was hit when a floating oil storage vessel got entangled with fishing nets, prompting the state-owned firm to seek help from the Indian Navy. Armada Sterling V floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which ONGC will use to produce oil from its KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 block, got entangled with long nets, according to the company's social media posts. The company sought help from the Indian Navy whose divers helped remove the nets after a month-long operation. Commissioning operations resumed after that.

“The operations halted as the FPSO Armada Sterling V was stranded due to large fishing nets getting entangled in its fuel-extracting mechanism. Timely action by @IndiannavyMedia / @indiannavy has completely restored operations enabling considerable savings to the exchequer,” ONGC said in a Tweet.

ONGC via LinkedIn expressed its ‘immense gratitude’ to the Indian Navy for extending timely support in restoring operations at the KG-DWN-98/2 project off Kakinada. Timely action by (the) Indian Navy has completely restored operations enabling considerable savings to the exchequer.

Divers from the Indian Navy cleared the nets despite extremely challenging underwater conditions - on account of which the salvage efforts took nearly a month. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in a tweet posted a video explaining the operation. Fishing nets entangled in the FPSO at 440 meters of water depth. "Indian Navy ship 'Gharial' and 16 divers from the Command Clearance Diving Team were deployed to remove entangled nets from ONGC's vessel," it said.

“Complex underwater fittings and strong currents made the operation a daunting challenge. After a month of challenging dives in tough underwater conditions, the Indian Navy’s skilled team of divers successfully restored the ONGC fuel extraction mechanism on April 8, 2023," it said.

“Undeterred in the depths of sea, the India Navy's exceptional skill & determination untangled @ONGC_'s complex fuel extraction equipment, enabling seamless installation of additional underwater fuel lines."

The FPSO is owned by Shapoorji Pallonji Oil & Gas' 70:30 joint venture with Malaysia's Bumi Armada. Armada Sterling V, which has a processing capacity of about 60,000 barrels per day of liquid and 3 million cubic meters per day of gas, in late December was hooked up to ONGC's Cluster 2 asset, with commissioning work continuing.

The first oil is expected in May. Last month, ONGC Director (Production) Pankaj Kumar said that ONGC's delayed Krishna Godavari basin KG-D5 project is likely to start crude oil production in May this year and gas output a year later.