August start for ONGC's Narmada 3-well plan
By August this year (2024), ONGC expects to begin a three-well exploration campaign at onshore OALP-6 block NM-ONHP-2020/1.
On May 2 and 3 (2024), ONGC received environmental clearance for its first Narmada basin drilling campaign at the block, straddling Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, at a two-day meeting of the environment ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee. In a detailed 117-page Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR), Chennai-based ABC Techno Labs said ONGC plans to drill three exploration wells in Phase-1 by January 12 (2026) under its Committed Work Programme (CWP).
Entirely onland, Narmada is a Category-3 basin with prospective resources awaiting discovery, according to the DGH. "The Narmada basin has a total hydrocarbon in place of 9m tonnes, which is entirely undiscovered and has potential for intense exploration," says the PFR.
Under the current programme, ONGC plans to drill only in Maharashtra. Of the 2999.15-sq km block area, 1533.47-sq km is in Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar districts in Maharashtra, and the remaining 1465.68-sq km is in Madhya Pradesh.
"All three proposed wells are in the Dhule district," says an ONGC source. He adds that ONGC will use its rig to drill each well to 3500 metres TD.
Each well will likely take 60 days to drill. According to the PFR, no national park or biosphere reserve is within 10-km of the block boundary.
Towards the south lies the Aner Dam Wildlife Sanctuary, about 11.8-km from the nearest well location. No defence installations or protected monuments are near the block either.
"The area in and around the blocks is predominantly agriculture-based with some densely populated pockets," adds the PFR. The three-well plan is estimated to cost Rs75cr ($9m).
The Rs25cr/well ($3m) cost includes drilling preparation and well planning (including civil engineering costs) at Rs2.18cr ($240,0000); drilling costs of Rs3.26cr ($360,000); rig mobilisation and operation costs of Rs13.62 lakhs ($16,300), cementing services worth Rs1.61cr ($193,000); mud services worth Rs95.54 lakhs ($114,500); casing services Rs5.49cr ($658,100); bits worth Rs1.78cr ($213,400); wellhead costs worth Rs56.77 lakhs ($68,000); and logging costs worth Rs2.14cr ($256,500).