ONGC board approves Rs 34,000 crore investment for KG-D6 field

State-owned exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Monday said its board has approved a Rs 34,000 crore investment plan to bring into production a flagship hydrocarbon block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra coast.

“The investment will be made over a period of 3-4 years to bring Cluster 2A and 2B into production. At peak production in 2023, the field will contribute 15 per cent of oil and 25 per cent of our gas output," ONGC Chairman D K Sarraf said after the board meeting in New Delhi.

The two clusters in the field -- KG-DWN-98/2 – is projected to produce a total of 23.5 million tonnes (MT) of oil and 50.7 billion cubic meter of gas over the life of the field.

Sarraf did not disclose the exact gas price that will be allowed for production from the field but said the government has extended pricing and marketing freedom to companies for difficult fields.

The first gas from the field will be produced in June 2019 while gas production will commence in March 2020.

Sarraf said the company is comfortably placed to fund the entire Rs 34,000 crore investment plan through internal resources but a decision on funding will be a strategic one to be taken at an appropriate time and may involve tapping the market for loans.

Facilities planned to be set up as part of the project include a Gas Process Platform, a floating unit for storage and evacuation of oil and gas apart from 430 kilometres of sub-sea pipelines.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)