New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is on its way to commercialize another basin – Vindhyan basin. This would be the ninth producing basin of India, and the eighth by ONGC. This comes close on the heels of the eighth Indian basin – Bengal basin –dedicated to the nation on December 20, 2020.

According to ONGC, active exploration in the Vindhyan basin began with the acquisition of seismic data in the late 1980s. The very first well Jabera1, drilled in the basin in 1991, produced gas of around 2000 cubic meters per day. The perseverance of ONGC spanned over the next 25 years, with drilling of 26 exploratory wells in the Son and Chambal valley sector of the Vindhya basin, notwithstanding 14 of them providing sub-commercial gas flows in the Son Valley.

Finally, continued efforts have now paid off – the Vindhyan Basin is close to becoming the ninth producing Basin of India. ONGC is fully geared to consolidate this development. With belief in prospectivity, it has already acquired five blocks under OALP rounds on the same play trend, said the ONGC.

ONGC is now working out various monetization options for the gas, viz., direct marketing to industries in the vicinity, Cluster-based gas production through cascade systems, CNG bottling at well-head as the gas is of high calorific value and transportation using available facilities.

Congratulating the team involved in this exercise, ONGC CMD Dr Alka Mittal said: “It’s a matter of great pride for ONGC as well as the oil and gas industry of the country to realize this aspiration of adding yet another Basin with production potential on India’s energy map.” /BI/