Ahmedabad asset of ONGC is already the second largest producer of crude oil in Gujarat
Ahmedabad may soon find a place on the shale gas map as ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) is set to explore for shale gas in its fields in the district. Ahmedabad asset of ONGC is already the second largest producer of crude oil in Gujarat.
Shale refers to a sedimentary rock, and shale gas is the natural gas trapped within these rocks. Shale gas has revolutionised energy market in the US, which is the largest producer of the unconventional type of natural gas, but in India, shale gas is in its early days.
"We will soon begin work to drill two exploratory wells for shale gas in Nandej and Navagam. This will be followed by hydrofracturing and other tests to analyse and evaluate the data to assess the potential of shale gas in the area," Debasis Basu, asset manager of ONGC's Ahmedabad Asset, told DNA.
Basu said that geological and geophysical studies have pointed to the presence of shale gas in the area. "Once we have dug up the exploratory wells, we will submit more data to the Centre of Excellence for Shale Gas. The Centre will do in-depth study of the data, and based on the recommendations, we will decide the future steps," said Basu.
According to officials, each exploratory well would cost around Rs15 crore, which means ONGC would spend Rs30 crore for the two shale gas exploratory wells.
Work for drilling the two wells is expected to start after monsoon, and likely to be completed by December. Officials said that it would take at-least 6-9 months to assess the shale gas potential in the area, and to determine whether production in the area would be commercially viable or not.
"The process will take some time," Basu said. Incidentally, ONGC has also undertaken shale gas exploration in its Ankleshwar and Mehsana assets.
ONGC's Ahmedabad asset, which is spread over 6,000 sq km, comprises 14 small and large fields, which produced 1.288 million tonne of crude oil in 2017-18. For 2018-19, it is targeting production of 1.335 million.
Basu said that nine more oil exploratory wells would be drilled in the Ahmedabad asset at a cost of nearly Rs140 crore. ONGC's Ahmedabad asset produces 4.3 lakh cubic metre of gas per day.
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