Blade Energy hired by ONGC
ONGC's hardball tactics have won it a good deal from US consultant Blade Energy Partners.
ONGC is set to award a $14m contract by February to Blade on a nomination basis for a geological and geophysical study and engineering design work for Phase-II development of six "highly prospective" fields in the KG and Cauvery basins. Blade originally quoted $312.8/hour but ONGC protested this was higher than the $275/hour offered to GSPC for similar work.
Finally ONGC beat Blade down to match GSPC's rate. Blade has expertise exploiting low permeability, tight gas reservoirs with high pressure/high temperature.
The six fields are Bhuvanagiri and Periyakudi in the onland Cauvery basin; Bantumilli South and Kottalanka in the onland KG basin; and G-4-6 and GS-OSN-2004/1 in the offshore Saurashtra basin. Last October Blade finished a report for ONGC putting in-place gas reserves at 23-tcf in the pre-NELP Yanam area and areas of the KG basin.