R.S. Pandey in action-I: DGH to monitor ONGC' performance

Jan 5: The best manner in which to judge the performance of a secretary to the petroleum ministry is from the minutes of the quarterly performance assessment that he carries out of public sector undertakings under his wings. This website has monitored the performance of several secretaries in the past. Every secretary has his own style. The best secretary in recent years was none other than B.K. Chaturvedi -- who went on to become a Cabinet Secretary -- both for his deep understanding of the subject as well for his incisive analytical skills and his ability to quickly grasp what is wrong with a company's performance and then go on to suggest mitigating measures.
 8The website has now found that current secretary R.S. Sharma has a gift similar to Chaturvedi. He is not just insightful and intrepid but he has a capacity to do an extraordinary amount of out-of-the-box thinking. Going by the minutes of the quarterly review that he had with the ONGC's brass some time ago, for example, it did not take Sharma too long to figure out what ails the company. Sharma has now demand the following steps from ONGC to translate oil and gas discoveries into actual production:
 8For each of the discovery made in the last five years and current year 2008-2009 (Nomination , pre-NELP and NELP regime separately), a time frame is to be indicated to convert discovery into production, by putting together a well thought out development plan.
 --If a discovery is already put on production, the parameters are to be quantified on an annualized basis.
 --The responsibility of asset officers is to be fixed with adequate incentives as well as disincentives to ensure desired performance.
 --A discovery is to be announced only after completion of formalities including certification from DGH. Reserves and production need not be announced in anticipation.
 --For nomination fields also, ONGC will have to submit development and production plans to the DGH for examination. The DGH in turn will submit performance reports of ONGC in this regard to the petroleum ministry
 Click on Details for more information   Details

R.S. Pandey in action-II: Rig productivity to be intensively monitored

Jan 5: Petroleum secretary R.S. Pandey seems to be a man of action. In a performance review of ONGC recently, Pandey has demanded a series of data from the brass which would help pinpoint the exact nature of specific problems that ONGC seems to be facing currently. Among them:
 8Drilling: ONGC to submit rig wise performance report along with  benchmark set for each rig in different geological condition.
 --ONGC to indicate which rigs have performed below the set benchmark.
 --ONGC to submit plans for optimal use of each rig to increase productivity.
 8Gas Flaring: ONGC to quantify how much extra gas has become available (both from onshore and offshore separately) by reducing gas flaring during the last three years. The saving in monetary terms as well as increase in internal consumption to be quantified.
 8Coal Bed Methane (CBM) : ONGC to indicate the price arrived at for selling CBM gas on short and long term basis.
 8Optimum utilization of Assam and Rajastan Reserves: A team comprising of representatives of ONGC and Oil be constituted for submitting a report on the pros and cons of inter-company adjustment of assets and other resources.
 Click on Details for more information   Details

R.S. Pandey in action-III: Action plan sought to meet shortfall demanded

Jan 5: Petroleum secretary R.S. Pandey is keen to get the hand of ONGC's operations as quickly as possible. On the exploration and production front, Pandey  has demanded the following action from the company:
 8Exploration & Production: ONGC to make a presentation to Pandey on field-wise, rig-wise and well-wise review including resource planning for the 10 best cases and the 10 worst cases.
 8Drilling: ONGC to submit action plan with time lines to improve both  exploratory and development drilling. The MoU for 2009-2010 should include more weightage on drilling performance of ONGC.
 --As regards developmental wells, ONGC to quantify how much oil/gas was supposed to come and whether there has been any increase in oil and gas production. DGH to evolve a format for ascertaining ONGC's drilling performance and ONGC to submit details as per that format within a month's time.
 --ONGC needs to make sustained efforts to increase crude oil production and evolve strategy to meet shortfalls as against MoU targets for 2008-2009.
 8Safety Issues: ONGC to include safety report also in QPR meetings. OISD to submit a report on safety issues of ONGC including details of casualties and Industry benchmark.
 Click on Details for more information   Details

R.S. Pandey in action-IV: Government will be proactive too

Jan 5: Petroleum secretary R.S. Pandey is not the kind who would while demanding action from a corporation like shirk the responsibility of giving an E&P giant like ONGC a level playing field. He has called for action on a series of long standing demands that ONGC had put forward to the petroleum ministry:
 8Reimbursement of Cess and Royalty paid by ONGC on the production share of other partners in pre-NELP exploratory blocks: Ministry to seek a time from the finance ministry for making a presentation addressing all North Block concerns.
 8Fiscal Stability in pre-NELP exploratory blocks: ONGC, DGH and Director Exploration of ONGC to finalize the proposal expeditiously and seek approval of competent authority.
 8Clarification on the extent of ONGC's liability for payment of OID Cess in pre-NELP exploratory blocks : Action to be taken as per advice of ministry of law & justice and ONGC to submit compliance report.
 8Revision of price for natural gas : Ministry to look into the proposal of ONGC and seek orders of competent authority.
 8Reimbursement of Past Cost claim of ONGC: The details submitted by ONGC in November, 2008 may be examined by the ministry so that it can be referred to the Cost Account Branch (CAB) in Ministry of Finance for review of methodology and verification of net claim of ONGC.
 8ONGC's proposal for price equalization discount to meet the under recoveries of OMCs: ONGC and Oil to submit alternative models to JS(R) for examination of the proposal.
 8Royalty on APM gas on well-head price : DGH to examine royalty notification dated 20.08.2007 and suggest amendments, if required.
 8Enhancement of financial powers for investment through JVs and M&As : Comments of Department of Public Enterprises to be sought. Exploration division in the ministry to pursue the matter with DPE.
 Click on Details for more information

R.S. Pandey in action-V: Actionable framework set on findings of Strategy Meet

Jan 5: Petroleum secretary R.S. Pandey has also put together an actionable framework on issues which came up in ONGC's 7th Strategy Meeting which was he;ld recently. The following points emerged:
 8Updated ATR on the decisions will be reviewed in the next QPR meeting.
 8The dispensation sought by ONGC from CVC with regard to tendering process may be pursued by ONGC.
 8The road map with regard to accelerated oil recovery (AOR) may be firmed up by ONGC with a definitive time frame. 
 8The modifications/innovation in the existing HR Polices of ONGC may be finalized by the Committee set up by ONGC a report may be submitted to the Ministry within six weeks.
 8ONGC to consider enhancing limit from 0.75% to 2% of its net profit for CSR activities and updating its CSR guidelines taking a cue from PSUs doing good work in this regard.
 Click on Details for more information   Details

Heavy oil from Rajasthan: OIL plans to put two wells into proudction by January 2010

Jan 5: 8Oil India Ltd`s attempts to produce heavy oil from its its Baghewala field in Rajasthan had not borne fruit as yet. Baghewala in fact has proved to be a black sheep among OIL`s otherwise successful ventures. The project had been plagued with several difficulties in the past. Although oil was discovered in the Baghewala field way back in 1991, OIL did not have the technology to commercially exploit the reserves. The company was unable to extract oil by the conventional method due to the heavy nature (viscosity 1,700 cp at 60 degrees) of the crude.
8OIL was supposed to spud a well in June 2005 but postponed the plan as water was not available for steam injection (also called Cyclic Steam Injection system or Huff and Puff technology), a technology which loosen the heavy crude so that it can flow to the surface.
8Readers may recall that OIL and Venezuelan national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), had entered into an agreement in October 2003 for consultancy and technical help, including detailed geo-scientific and reservoir engineering studies, for the oilfield. Baghewala is estimated to have 25 mmt of in-place reserves with a Gross Ultimate Recovery of 3.75 mmt.
8OIL now plans to put Baghewala back on the spotlight. But this time without Venezuelan help. A tender has been invited in which bidders had been asked to work out the modalities of heavy oil production. including the requisites for cold production from a well. The target is to have two wells in production by January 31, 2010.   Details

Petroleum Events Worldwide: A round up

Jan 5: A number of petroleum events are being organized around the world in the next few months. Here's a summary:
 8Offshore Arabia 2009 (January 11-13), Dubai. The event will identify and discuss the energy challenges faced by the world today. It will highlight corporate social responsibility (CSR) and integrating the oil industry. Topics for discussion at the conference range from 'Global Oil and Gas Outlook', 'sustainability' and 'Offshore and Onshore Protections'.
 8The World LNG Finance Summit 2009 (January 18-21), Dubai. The conference will have senior experts speaking on funding the fuel of the 21st century and increasing financing flexibility with minimized project risk. It will discuss how LNG operators and financiers around the world are getting prepared to meet their financial challenges. Petronet LNG vice president and director (finance and commercial) Amitava Sengupta will present a paper at the conference..
 8World Floating Production Systems (FPS) Congress 09 (January 28-30), London. The main theme of the convention is design, technology and innovation in FPS. The congress will provide exposure to more innovative and progressive designs FPS. It will discuss successful integration of technical design with operational efficiency for greater project development at lower costs and within realistic time frames.
 811th International Petrochemicals Technology Conference & Exhibition (February 16-17), London. The outlook for the worldwide petrochemical industry will be the focus of the show as it will examine case studies of petrochemical projects and the gas-to-petrochemicals technology. Research papers on topics like market for olefins, polyolefins, aromatics and derivatives on reducing carbon dioxide emissions and refinery and petrochemical integration opportunities are expected to be presented.
 8Turoge 2009 (March 11-13), Ankara. The 8th Turkish International Oil & Gas Conference and Showcase reflects the growing interest in Turkey's oil and gas sector and is designed to offer an in-depth insight into the current industry trends in the region, as Turkey's strategic location has made it the region's oil and gas transportation hub between Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The event is being supported by Turkey's energy and natural resources ministry. Giants of the industry like Schlumberger, Petrobras and Aramco were among 24 companies that participated in Turoge 2008.
  

IOC's Koyali-Ratlam pipeline project: Commissioning of Tank Truck loading facility to be completed by February, 2009

Jan 5: 8The completion of IOC's Rs 224.69 crore Koyali-Ratlam pipeline project via the Tank Truck (TT) loading facility has been delayed by two months and is now expected to be completed by February, 2009, as against the earlier projection of December, 2008. The slip-up has been on account of delay in completion of the composite station works by the contractor Harji Engineering. " Untimely supply of steel to the contractor on account of a recent rise in steel price delayed the construction of steel structures under the composite station works", sources close to the project's development informed this website. The project work also received a set back on account of unseasonal rains. All other activities under the project have been completed. The 274 km 16-inch pipeline has been laid, construction of pump station inside the Koyali refinery has been completed and so has been the scraper station at Dahod.
8The corporation has also stepped up the pace of work under the rail loading facility. Two work packages -- creation of an embankment and construction of railway quarters -- were recently awarded to Farrow Concrete in December, 2008. While the creation of embankment will be completed in a period of seven months, the construction of railway quarters will take 12 months. The third package -- consisting of mechanical works for the construction of the gantry within a period of six months -- will be taken up only after completion of the embankment package.
8Readers may recall that for the time being, the project will be commissioned using only the the Tank Truck facility, which means that  petroleum products will have to be be ferried by road from Ratlam. It will take another one year for the refinery major to link Ratlam to the Indian railway network and only then will the full benefits of the project will accrue. By Neeraj Dhankher   Details

Augmentation of Mundra-Panipat crude oil pipeline to be completed by January, 2009

Jan 5: 8A delay in the receipt of mainline pumping units has stymied IOC`s plans to augment the capacity of its Mundra-Panipat crude oil pipeline from 6 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA by December, 2008. The Rs 165 crore project is now expected to be completed by January, 2009. A total of six mainline pumping units were ordered from Ruhrpumpen of Germany which were scheduled to be delivered by September 30, 2008. "The delivery of mainline pumps took longer than expected as there was a shortage of ships in high sea. Furthermore, it took another three weeks to receive clearance from the Bombay excise department", reliable sources close to the project revealed to this website today (January 5, 2009). The project is now on the verge of completion. While the work on substations has been completed, combined station works are are also nearing completion.
8The augmentation of the pipeline project involves laying a 20-km-long, 22-inch loopline in the Kot-Beawar section, conversion of the Radhanpur scraper station to a pumping station and setting up of additional pumping stations at Mundra, Kat, Sanganer and Rewari. Readers will note that earlier, the commissioning of the pipeline was to be synchronised with the Panipat Refinery expansion from 12 MMTPA to 15 MMTPA. However, the refinery major has now decided to augment the pipeline`s capacity ahead of the refinery`s expansion to cater to swing requirement of crude at Panipat. By Neeraj Dhankher   Details

HPCL's Euro-III/IV plan in shambles-I: Quality upgradation projects in danger of breaching April, 2010, deadline

Jan 5: 8Wary that its MS and HSD quality upgradation projects at the Mumbai and Visakh refinery may not be completed in time to supply Euro-III/IV variety of petrol and diesel from April 1, 2010, HPCL is mulling on "alternative arrangements" to meet market demand to avoid the wrath of the Supreme Court. In a recent appraisal of its high-priority projects like the New FCCU and Lube Oil Base Stocks (LOBS) quality upgradation and Green Fuels project at the Mumbai refinery and Clean Fuels project at the Visakh refinery, the corporation's top brass conceded that these projects are marred by continued delays on account of failure of public contractors like Bharat Heavy Plates & Vessels (BHPV), BHEL and EIL to adhere to contractual commitments. These inordinate delays are now threatening to throw these project off-track. While BHPV is noted for taking an abnormally long time in placement of orders for critical long lead items and preparation of drawings, BHEL has held up project work by delaying manufacturing of various equipments.
8Readers will note that both the FCCU and LOBS project being implemented at the Mumbai Refinery are running behind schedule and are envisaged to be completed only by May, 2010. The Clean Fuels project at the Visakh Refinery -- including revamp of the Fluidised Catalytic Converter (FCC) unit and completion of the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) unit -- is projected to be completed by January, 2010. (Click on Details for more information)   Details

HPCL's Euro-III/IV plan in shambles-II: Time for desperate measures

Jan 5: 8Deeply perturbed over the the droopy performance of public contractors like BHPV, BHEL and EIL while implementing its key quality upgradation projects at the Mumbai and Visakh refinery, HPCL has advocated a host of measures to avoid a breach of the Supreme Court`s directive of supplying Euro-III/IV variety of fuel from April 1, 2010. For one, the trio of BHPV, BHEL and EIL may be asked to outsource some of their activities entrusted under the contract to meet project timelines. These activities include: manufacturing of main air blower for the New FCCU project at Mumbai refinery by BHEL, execution of flue gas scrubbing unit for New FCCU project by EIL, erection of heaters for the Clean Fuels project at Visakh refinery by BHPV and boilers for the Green Fuels and Emission Control project by BHPV.
8The corporation has also sought the urgent intervention of the petroleum ministry by scheduling a high-level meeting comprising of the defaulting contractors along with ministry officials.
8In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, the downstream major is also contemplating to step up the security of its Mumbai and Visakh refineries. The corporation plans to take up the matter with both the state and central government to beef up security of these refineries in an urgent manner. (Click on Details for more information)   Details

HPCL finalises crude oil import strategy for 2009-10

Jan 5: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) recently submitted a strategy paper on crude oil imports in 2009-10 to the Empowered Standing Committee (ESC). Based on the advise of the ESC, it has now finalised its total crude oil requirement for the coming fiscal at 15.5 MMT. Considering the availability of indigenous crude oil at 4.58 MMT -- based on 2008-09 estimated allocation -- the total imported crude oil requirement is projected to be 10.92 MMT, of which 9.38 MMT is planned to be sourced through term contracts, while 1.54 MMT will be procured from the spot market. This crude oil will be sourced from the following national oil companies:
8SOMO (Basrah Light) - 1.25 MMT
8KPC (Kuwait Export Blend) - 1 MMT
8ADNOC (UZ/Murban/Umm Shaiff/Lower Bakum) - 2 MMT
8NIOC (Iran Light/Iran Heavy) - 3 MMT
8Saudi Aramco (AL/AXL/AH) - 2.25 MMT
8Petronas (Miri/Lubnan/Tafin) - 1.50 MMT (With a flexibility to buyer/seller for 0.75 MMT)
The term to spot ratio for imported crude oil will be about 86% and 14%, respectively, based on the planned upliftments and proposed term contracts.
(Click on Details for more information)   Details

HPCL's crude oil procurement for 2009-10: Refinery-wise term and spot crude requirements

Jan 5: The following are the refinery-wise term and spot crude requirements of HPCL as envisaged in its crude strategy paper for the year 2009-10:
8Mumbai Refinery: A total of 7,545 TMT of crude is planned to be utilised by the refinery during 2009-10, of which 4,425 TMT will be sourced through term contracts and 3,120 TMT will be procured from indigenous sources. Of a total of 4,425 TMT of crude planned to be sourced from national oil companies, 1,183 TMT will be supplied by SOMO, 1,000 TMT by KPC and 2,242 TMT by Saudi Aramco. The refinery will not utilise any crude purchased from the spot market. 
8Visakh Refinery: A total of 7,210 TMT of crude is planned to be utilised by the refinery during 2009-10, of which 5,750 TMT will be sourced through term contracts and 1,460 TMT will be procured from indigenous sources. Of a total of 5,750 TMT of crude planned to be sourced from national oil companies, 2,000 TMT will be procured from ADNOC, 3,000 TMT from NIOC and 750 TMT from Petronas. The refinery will also utilise an additional quantity of 2,000 TMT of crude from the spot market. (Click on Details for more information)   Details

Geopetrol to launch Arunachal drilling by March; Construction work in full swing

Jan 5: Geopetrol International Ltd led consortium has decided to launch its much awaited Arunachal Pradesh drilling programme towards the end of the last quarter. "Exploration work for a multi-well drilling project is likely to begin after March 20, 2009," petroleum ministry sources, familiar with block developments, revealed to our website on January 5, 2008 (Monday). The operator has informed the ministry that all construction activities in the block are expected to be over by February 2009, sources added. Geopetrol has concluded a specialized 3D seismic programme -- shot over an area of 100 sq km -- in the block recently.
8The Arunachal project has been categorized as a high risk drilling venture (HRDV). Apart from the present seismic programme, Geopetrol has already shot and processed 2D seismic data in the block. AA-ONN-2003/2 is a NELP-V block. As operator, Geopetrol International carries a 30% participating interest (PI) in the acreage.
8Notably the signing of a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the block ran into some trouble and was delayed because the consortium initially submitted an 8-year work programme instead of a 7-year one, based on the assumption that the block was entitled to a longer exploratory phase as it was in a frontier area. A committee set up by the government later ruled against the suggestion and subsequently trimmed off a year from the four-year Phase-I exploration period. Readers would note that NTPC and Canoro are stakeholders, carrying 40% and 30% PI in AA-ONN-2003/2, respectively. By Sadiq Shaban   Details

HPCL Briefs

Jan 5: 8Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has decided to appoint K. Murali as the new Director-Refineries with effect from February 1, 2009. He will replace M.A. Tankiwala -- the current refinery director of HPCL -- who will be retiring from his services on January 31, 2009. Murali would be granted a Power of Attorney (POA) as Director-refineries of the corporation in terms of the Articles of Association of the company. Murali would be holding office as an Additional Director till the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the corporation due to be held during August-September, 2009.
8HPCL`s Board of Directors recently approved a proposal to enhance the powers of its Committee of Functional Directors for investing in special petroleum bonds from the current level of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore in any financial year. The board, in a meeting held on 29th May, 2008, had delegated authority to the Committee of Functional Directors for making an investment of up to Rs 10,000 crore in any financial year in such bonds. The limit now stands raised.

PETROTECH-2009 set to make a grand opening on January 11, 2009

Jan 4: 8The eighth edition of Asia`s biggest biennial oil and gas even -- PETROTECH-2009 -- is all set to kick off on January 11, 2009, in New Delhi. The five day event -- being organised under the aegis of the petroleum ministry by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and PETROTECH society -- will have the theme "Energy Independence with Global Cooperation: Challenges and Solutions". The event will comprise of a series of international oil and gas conferences and exhibitions. Petroleum minister, Murli Deora -- who is also the patron-in-chief of PETROTECH-2009 -- will inaugurate the exhibition on January 11, 2009, at Pragati Maidan, followed by inauguration of photo contest/ exhibition by minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, Dinsha Patel. The four-day conference will be inaugurated by the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on January 12, 2009.
8The event will serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas on petroleum economics, security, sustainability and environmental concerns, emerging technologies, processes and chart new directions for the industry. The event will be marked by the presence of a total of 13 overseas minister, 273 exhibitors and around 4,000 speakers and delegates across the globe. The delegates will include eminent scientists, academicians, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, industry experts, technocrats and government officials. Energy ministers from Afghanistan, Alberta, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are expected to attend the conference. (Click on Details for more information)   Details

PETROTECH-2009 (January 11-15, 2009): Details

Jan 4: The eighth edition of PETROTECH-2009 will commence from January 11, 2009. The conference will set off with an inaugural session, followed by a theme session in which senior Indian ministers and top ranking officials from India and abroad will participate. Thereafter, seven plenary sessions will be held between January 12-15, 2009, to provide an insight into the wide-ranging issues within the hydrocarbon industry such as cost effective exploration and acquisition strategies, winning strategy for capacity enhancement and product mix shift, cutting edge and emerging need of frontier technologies, synergy between oil and gas, business integration between petroleum and petrochemicals and expanding wings in the hydrocarbon sector. The following are the highlights of the five-day event:
8Three parallel pre-conferences will be held at Vigyan Bhavan on January 11, 2009, wherein subject experts from reputed organizations like Price Waterhouse Coopers and Honeywell will address the participants on Clean Development Mechanism.
8A special ministerial session will be held whereby petroleum and energy ministers from select countries will debate on policy issues related to inter-country  cooperation.
8A total of 25 technical sessions spread over three days will be held simultaneously.
8Special interactive group meetings will be held between high-level government officials, policy makers, CEOs, heads of delegations and key decision makers to deliberate on policies and strategies for international cooperation, technological developments and joint ventures in energy-related areas. The topic of discussion will include investment opportunities in oil and gas sector, gas marketing and transportation - issues and opportunities and growing hydrocarbon sector: challenges for manufacturers, consultants and contractors.
8Special addresses will be delivered by eminent personalities of international repute on topics of global significance.
8Poster sessions will be held where about 100 posters will be on display each day.
8A CEOs conclave will be held on January 13, 2009, which will bring together CEOs of major Indian corporates from sectors like power, petrochemicals, steel, information technology, heavy engineering, construction, services and retail.
8Other notable features of the conference include a buyer-seller-EPC contractors meet, a PETROTECH golf tournament, an industry-academia interface, a parallel track event, photo contest and exhibition and a PETROTECH quiz. (Click on Details for more information on the Programme Schedule)   Details

Development of marginal fields in the Western Offshore: Acquisition of FPSO to wait as ONGC chews over hiring a consultant

Jan 4: 8ONGC`s plans to acquire a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel to carry out development of marginal fields in the Western Offshore have been shelved for some time as the E&P major is yet to make up its mind on the ideal choice for a consultant. The company had initially planned to select a consultant by October 15, 2008, after an international competitive bidding tender was issued by the Indian E&P major in July, 2008, for hiring a consultant for the construction of a FPSO. Subsequently, a pre-bid conference was held on August 11, 2008, and on September 9, 2008. However, not satisfied with the response, the E&P firm recently opted to refloat the tender.
8Phase-I of the contract comprises preparing a feasibility report, while in Phase-II, the consultant will prepare technical bid packages, cost estimates and technical bid evaluation criteria for issuance of a tender for acquisition of the FPSO. In Phase-III, construction and commissioning of the FPSO will be carried out. The tentative date of completion of Phase-I, Phase-II and Phase-III of the contract was earlier envisaged to be February 15, 2009, November 21, 2009 and December 31, 2011, respectively. However, now that the contract has been refloated, fresh timelines need to be worked out.
8Initially, the FPSO will be employed for the development of marginal fields -- D-18, D-33 and WO -16 -- in the Western Offshore as the environmental conditions in the West Coast are less hostile. The FPSO will help in extended testing and early monetisation of such fields. By Neeraj Dhankher (Click on our Tenders section for more information)

ONGC reacts to news items on mess-up in OSV operations-I: Shortage of repair facilities holds up deployment

Jan 4: Reacting to our news items on the mess-up in the operation of Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs) by ONGC, the management has clarified that an acute shortage of vessels has surfaced after July 2007 when the Directorate General Shipping cancelled the operating licenses of O&M operators of all 30 ONGC-owned vessels soon after the sinking of one of the company-owned vessel, the Sam-10.
 8ONGC subsequently awarded the O&M work for 16 company-owned OSVs to the public sector Shipping Corporation of India on a nomination basis. The other 16 vessels were contracted out to HAL.offshore Ltd. But both companies have been handicapped in getting the vessels sailing for the following reasons:
 --Shortage of qualified ship crew in the market
 --Many of the vessels had become "D classed"
 --Shortage of dry dock berths in and around Mumbai.
 --Shortage of the class surveyors
 --Requirement of special survey as many of the OSCs had completed 20 years of age
 --Long lead delivery time by OEMs for critical engine spares
 --Stringent inspection and certification criteria adpted by surveyors before certifying the vessels. This had a cascading effect as most of the vessels were more than 20 years old and had to undergo lot of steel renewal work.
 --Shortage of well equipped and government approved workshops for undertaking repairs on large number of vessels at the same time.   Details

Unawa development: GSPC mulls drilling as Government green lights development plan

Jan 4: Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) will shortly embark upon a proposed developmental drilling plan at its discovered Unawa field, located in Mehsana, Gujarat. Speaking exclusively to Indian Petro News on Friday (January 2, 2009), reliable company sources revealed that a proposal to carry out an onshore drilling programme -- comprising of three development wells -- has been approved by the petroleum ministry. The government has also given its go-ahead for a request of the operator to allow the modification of an existing Early Production System (EPS) in Unawa. The EPS was constructed by the earlier operator, ONGC at this well site. GSPC is likely to spend upwards of Rs 30 crores for the three-well drilling programme.
8Prior to GSPC, ONGC drilled two wells -- Unawa-4 and Unawa-8 in the field. The Unawa -4 produced oil while Unawa-8 was subsequently abandoned. ONGC started production in Unawa-4 in 1990 and stopped in July, 2003. GSPC worked over on Unawa-4 production since December, 2004. This has cumulatively produced around 16,495 barrels of oil of oil from 2004 to 2007. The crude produced from the field is being sent to the GSPC-Heramec offloading facility, near Sobhasan group gathering station, for onward custody transfer of crude to ONGC. This facility is common for the Unawa, Allora and Dholasan fields. At present GSPC produces 3.7 metric tonnes of oil per day from the production well.
8The total area of the medium sized field is approximately 5.65 sq km. Apart from Unawa GSPC is also reviving production from fields such as Unawa, Bhandut, Cambay and Kanawara. By Sadiq Shaban   Details

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