John Energy moves rig to Tripura for ONGC wells
ONGC is gearing up to begin a three-year drilling campaign at its Tripura asset in north-east India - home to the promising Khubal gas discoveries at AA-ONN-2001/1.
Two rigs will be deployed for the exploration and development campaign, one from Quippo the other from John Energy. At least six wells are planned, with the first slated to be 'spud' at the Khubal field on January 23, ONGC tells us.
John's 2000-hp Rig#31 is on its way to Tripura from the Jagudan workshop in Gujarat's Mehsana district and expected on site in early January. Rig#5 from Quippo will be deployed a month later in February 2017.
"Quippo's rig is sitting idle so there is no rush to mobilise it," explains an ONGC source. "We'll begin drilling with the John rig." ONGC will initially drill three wells at Khubal using the John rig and another three using the Quippo rig when it arrives.
All six wells, chosen from 10 promising locations identified by ONGC at Khubal, will be drilled to 5000 metres TD and take around five months each to complete. "After Khubal there are another seven or eight fields where we are looking to drill," adds ONGC.
"But where exactly we drill is difficult to say for now. First we must evaluate the Khubal results." ONGC's Tripura asset includes the promising Baramura, Agartala Dome, Konaban, Manikyanagar, Sonamura and Gojalia fields.