CHENNAI: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered gas from a well in the Krishna-Godavari offshore basin, with a potential reserve of 21 trillion cubic feet.

It was discovered in a deepwater block called KG-DWN-98/2. KG-DWN stands for Krishna-Godavari Deep Water North. Belford Dolphin was the charter-hired rig that drilled the well.

Contract

ONGC sources said production testing was under way to know the exact quantum of yield of gas. The ONGC and Cairn Energy India have a production-sharing contract in the block in the ratio of 90:10.

The gas was struck at a depth of about 5,300 metres in the waters of the Bay of Bengal.

Challenge

"At great depths [like this], the reservoir pressure will be very high. Surface control, therefore, to safely produce gas will be a challenging task. At a water depth beyond 2,000 metres, this is one of the rare cases in the world where commercial production can be obtained. The possible reserve indicated is only hypothetical, calculated on the basis of maps available and it will require to be confirmed by more drilling and assessment," according to authoritative sources.

The exploration for oil and gas in deep waters off India's coast has been christened "Sagar Samriddhi."

In the first quarter of 2005, the ONGC had found a big reserve of gas close to three trillion cubic feet in the Krishna-Godavari basin at a depth of 2,150 metres in a structure called G-1-12A.

In June 2005, the ONGC made "a significant find" of gas in the shallow waters of the Krishna-Godavari basin, about 15 km off the Amalapuram coast. The well was in GS-15 prospect.

Reliance Industries Limited discovered a gas reserve of reportedly 14 trillion cubic feet in KG offshore basin in 2002 in deep waters.

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