New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the national oil company of India, has spudded its first well Kanchan-1 in Block SS04, Bangladesh, on September 29, 2021 at Maheshkhali Island.

This exploratory well is planned to be drilled to a depth of 4200 m and will be targeting two prospective formations. This well marks the beginning of exploratory drilling in Bangladesh by ONGC Videsh and will be followed by drilling at two more exploratory locations.

ONGC Videsh Ltd in consortium with Oil India Ltd (OIL) was awarded two shallow offshore Blocks SS-04 and SS-09 in Bangladesh during the bid round of 2012. The production sharing contract (PSC) was signed between ONGC Videsh, OIL and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Company Limited (BAPEX) in February, 2014.

ONGC Videsh, with Participating Interest (PI) of 45 per cent is the operator with OIL (45 per cent PI) and BAPEX (10 per cent PI) as the other partners. BAPEX is being carried equally by ONGC Videsh and OIL up to the commercial discovery stage.

All pre-drilling activities were completed with the rig being on location in late 2019 and with spudding scheduled for March 2020. However, the drilling had to be deferred due to Covid-19 pandemic. After the easing of restrictions and resolving the issues owing to deferment of initial plans, in September 2021, the drilling of the well commenced on September 29, 2021.