Oil India has found natural gas off India’s east coast. The Oil India gas discovery lies in the shallow waters of the Krishna-Godavari basin. On Friday, the state explorer said its Godavari-1 appraisal well flowed about 100,000 standard cubic metres of gas a day. During continuous testing, the rate peaked at 200,000 cubic metres a day.
Details of the Oil India gas discovery
The well sits in block KG-DSF/GSKW/2018, which Oil India won in a Discovered Small Field round and operates alone. Gas came from a zone at 2,024-2,027 metres in the Matsyapuri formation. Notably, nobody had appraised that formation for hydrocarbons before. In addition, the well produced about 170 barrels a day of condensate. Testing first began on 16 October.
However, Oil India gave no estimate of the size of the resource. Next, it will test a higher zone in the same well.
Why it matters for India
For a start, India wants gas to supply 15% of its energy by 2030, up from about 6% today. Even so, it still relies on imports for a large share of its gas. If it proves commercial, this Oil India gas discovery could add domestic supply.
Meanwhile, the government has just set rules for its INR840.84bn Samudra Manthan offshore scheme. Read our report on India’s strategic oil reserves for more on energy security.
