Essar wins BPRL rig contract
Bharat Petroleum upstream subsidiary Bharat PetroResources (BPRL) issued a LoA to Essar last month (October) to hire a 1000-hp rig for its maiden exploration campaign at Cambay onland block CB-ONN-2010/8.
Essar, John and Quippo responded by the July 27 tender deadline to drill four firm and two optional exploration wells. Quippo was later disqualified on technical grounds.
Essar bid lowest quoting $11,800/day; John quoted $14,500/day. BPRL wants to spud the first well on December 7 by which time it hopes Essar will have mobilised the rig.
Each well will be drilled to at least 2100 metres targeting Cambay shale formations. BPRL’s $26m exploratory drilling programme is overseen by consultant EnQuest Petrosolutions and received MC approval in June.
This ‘S’ type small NELP-IX block covers 42-sq km in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Kheda and Gandhinagar districts. Incorporated in October 2006, BPRL has stakes in 17 blocks across the globe, including the North Sea and Mozambique.