Page 6 - AsianOil Week 49
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AsianOil                                       SOUTH ASIA                                            AsianOil


       OVL’s mixed upstream fortunes





        PERFORMANCE      INDIA’S state-run ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)  Sangomar block offshore Senegal fell apart after
                         has had something of a mixed week, with  Australian developer Woodside Petroleum pre-
                         good news onshore Colombia being offset  empted the sale.
                         by a missed acquisition opportunity in Sen-  OVL agreed last month to pay $45mn for
                         egal’s deep waters.                  FAR’s 15% stake in the RSSD development
                           OVL said on December 5 that it had made a  consortium, which is developing the block.
                         “significant” oil discovery in its onshore CPO-5  Sangomar includes three separate fields –
                         block in Colombia’s Llanos Basin. The Indico-2  Rufisque, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar
                         appraisal well encountered 147 feet (45 metres) of  Deep Offshore – that give the RSSD joint ven-
                         net pay and produced 6,300 barrels per day (bpd) of  ture its name.
                         35.2-degree API oil during initial testing.  As an additional consideration, the Indian
                           “Currently, the well is flowing under short-  company  agreed  to  reimburse  FAR  with
                         term testing with multi-bean study for further  $66.58mn for its share of contribution to the
                         evaluation,” OVL said, before adding that it  project’s working capital since January 1.
                         planned to drill more wells to explore the block’s   Woodside, however, has opted to exercise its
                         other plays in the “immediate future”.  right as a member of the venture to pre-empt
                           OVL said it was also in the process of  the deal. The Australian independent’s move
                         acquiring additional 3D seismic data on the  to scoop up FAR’s stake comes after it also pre-
                         1,992-square km block in the hopes of identify-  empted efforts by Cairn Energy to sell its 40%
                         ing other prospects.                 interest in the venture to Russia’s Lukoil.
                           The Indico-2 find brings the number of OVL’s   Woodside entered into a binding sales agree-
                         commercial discoveries in the block to four,  ment for Cairn’s stake in September, raising its
                         after the developer first discovered oil there in  operated equity interest in Sangomar to 75%.
                         December 2018.                       Once both deals are completed Woodside will
                           But while OIL celebrated success in Latin  own 90% of the venture, while state-owned Pet-
                         America, its efforts to acquire FAR’s stake in the  rosen will hold the remaining 10%.™




       OIL’s Assam drilling plans



       blocked by court order





        PROJECTS &       STATE-RUN Oil India Ltd’s (OIL) plans to drill at  underway to conduct the EIA. The official
        COMPANIES        a national park in Assam State have been pushed to  added: “ERD does not involve drilling in the
                         the backburner after the Gauhati High Court sus-  national park. This is a technology that will
                         pended the company’s environmental clearance.  enable us to explore crude or gas deep down
                           The court issued the stay order on December  horizontally after drilling vertically from a safe
                         7 after determining that OIL had failed to com-  distance beyond the protected area.”
                         ply with a Supreme Court order dating back to   This is not the first time that OIL has been
                         September 2017 that directed the company to  found to have breached pre-drilling obligations.
                         acquire an environmental impact assessment  A government inquiry into a well fire at the com-
                         (EIA) in the 340-square km Dibru-Saikhowa  pany’s Baghjan gas field in Assam found it had
                         National Park.                       drilled the well without securing necessary gov-
                           OIL had planned to conduct extended-reach  ernment approvals.
                         drilling (ERD) at seven locations in the park after   The commission said OIL had also failed to
                         receiving environmental clearance on May 11.  properly plan, execute and supervise a number
                         The work will see the company drill vertical wells  of critical operations while also slamming the
                         beyond the park’s perimeter before sidetracking  company’s drilling contractor, John Energy, for
                         to reach their targets.              failing to provide adequate supervision of critical
                           The Assam Forest Department told the High  well site operations.
                         Court on November 17 that OIL had received   OIL said on December 4 that it had finally
                         INR2.2mn ($30,000) to conduct the study, but  completed all work relating to the capping, kill-
                         work had not begun yet.              ing and final abandonment of the Baghjan-5
                           An OIL spokesperson told local daily  well. OIL said on November 15 that it had extin-
                         The Hindu on December 8 that exploration  guished the well fire after it was ablaze for more
                         work had started, while efforts were already  than five months.™



       P6                                       www. NEWSBASE .com                      Week 49   10•December•2020
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