New Delhi, Jan 8 (Agency) ONGC on Monday announced the commencement of the “first oil” production from the deepwater Krishna Godavari basin (KG-DWN-98/2 Block, situated off the coast of Bay of Bengal). This project is likely to increase ONGC’s total Oil and Gas production by 11 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, ONGC said in a statement. Valiantly combating various technological and COVID-related challenges, ONGC successfully executed Phase 1 of the project in March 2020, achieving the commencement of gas production from the U field of the KG-DWN-98/2 Block in the record time of 10 months, it said. With the commencement of this First Oil yesterday, ONGC is nearing completion of Phase 2, culminating in the commencement of oil production from the ‘M’ field of KG-DWN-98/2, the agency said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the state-controlled agency for this achievement. Replying to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on X, the Prime Minister said “This is a remarkable step in India’s energy journey and boosts our mission for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. It will have several benefits for our economy as well.” The flagship project is on track with Final phase of project with the balance oil & gas fields of the block scheduled to be put on production by mid-2024.