Bhubaneswar: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered gas in a deepwater exploration well off the Odisha coast.
The discovery was made on September 18 at the MN-DW18-1-H-D well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin, around 43 km from Konark, reported PTI. The well was drilled as part of ONGC’s Samudra Manthan deepwater exploration campaign.
The exploration well was drilled to a target depth of 1,623 metres, and the gas strike was recorded at 1,441-1,452 metre interval.
It’s the first well drilled by ONGC in the Mahanadi Basin under Samudra Manthan campaign.
Its proximity to the coast offers potential for early monetisation, subject to further appraisal, and commercial evaluation, ONGC said.
The well was spudded on July 25 using the drillship Platinum Explorer.
According to ONGC, the well has been flowing gas for three days, recording “encouraging flow and reservoir pressure.”
The state-run company said further appraisal and evaluation will be required to establish the scale and viability of the find. Hence, the discovery can’t immediately be confirmed as commercial resource.