The Hindu : Business : ONGC clears Dahej investment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 10, 2006

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Business

ONGC clears Dahej investment

Special Correspondent

Work in Mumbai offshore to be taken up

NEW DELHI: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has cleared an investment of Rs. 3,195 crore in the C-series oilfield in Mumbai offshore areas as well as the Dahej petrochemicals complex entailing an outlay of Rs. 13,600 crore. The ONGC board took these decisions at a meeting held here on Tuesday, according to a company statement.

The C-series marginal oilfield located in the Tapti Daman block of Mumbai offshore is estimated to hold in-place reserves of 15.54 billion cubic metres of gas and 4.46 million cubic metres of condensate. The development, including eight platforms and 17 wells, is expected to be completed by December 2008. The expected gas production from the field will be three million standard cubic metres a day. Though the field was discovered in the Nineties, the company says, it became viable only recently.

Value chain integration

As for the Dahej petrochemicals complex, ONGC says it is being set up as part of plans for value chain integration. "With its commissioning around mid-2010, it will catalyse significant economic development in western India and the country as well," it is stated.

The complex will be set up as the anchor industry in the Dahej Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with assistance from the Gujarat Government through participation of its nominee, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), as a co-promoter. This, it is stated, will help in lowering the project cost and developing various plastic processing industries within the SEZ.

The petrochemicals complex will comprise 1.1 million tonnes per annum of ethylene capacity along with associated units and polymer plants, to manufacture HDPE, LLDPE, PP and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). The company says the complex will be integrated with ONGC's own C2-C3 plant, which is now under execution at Dahej, and naphtha as feedstock from ONGC's own operational units at Hazira and Uran. The project is proposed to be implemented through the SPV (special purpose vehicle) route, with ONGC having management control. Gujarat State Petrochemicals corporation (GSPC) has evinced interest in participating in the project as a joint venture partner, it is stated.

Restart of operations

UNI reports:

Reliance and ONGC are hoping to restart operations at their plants located in the flooded Hazira gas complex in Gujarat, which has remained shut since Tuesday morning. ONGC is hoping to restart gas supplies in a couple of days, once water begins receding from the complex.

Meanwhile, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation on Wednesday temporarily shut down some of its plants at the Baroda complex due to floods.

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