THE western offshore is the flagship of the ONGC in the production of crude oil and natural gas. Production from three assets in this area – Bombay High, Bassein and its satellite fields, and the Neelam and Heera fields – accounts for about 71 per cent of the total production of the ONGC. Besides, there are several new and marginal fields in different stages of development.

A story titled “Bombay Region” in the issue of ONGC Reporter, published in 1996 to celebrate the 40th year of ONGC, says that on February 19, 1974, the corporation struck oil in Bombay High with its own rig, Sagar Samrat. Production started in 1976, creating a global benchmark. “The first barrel of oil was pumped into the tanker named Jawaharlal Nehru on May 21, 1976. Thus, Bombay High was born,” it says.

With more than 40 years of production behind them, the major producing fields of western offshore are past their prime and they are declining. According to an ONGC official, the corporation has been taking regular action to step up production in these fields. The focus is on repair of the existing wells, artificial lift of oil and stimulation of old wells.

The Bombay High North (BNH) redevelopment project, which was completed in December 2006, is expected to produce an additional 23 million tonnes of oil and 6.10 billion cubic metres of gas by 2030. The ONGC Board, at its meeting on September 6, 2006, approved an investment of Rs.3,005 crore for the redevelopment of Heera and south Heera fields.

The Bassein sour gas field, located about 80 km west-north-west of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea, is the ONGC’s largest gas field. It produces 27.5 million cubic metres of gas a day and accounts for 43 per cent of the corporation’s total gas production. The gas from Bassein is processed and sweetened at Hazira in Gujarat. It is then sold to various plants along the 2,759-km Hazira-Bijapur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) pipeline, passing through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.

“For the past 18 years, the gas from the Bassein field has been the lifeline of nine power-generating plants, seven fertilizer plants, two refineries and two petrochemical plants,” the ONGC official said.

T.S. Subramanian