Bureaucracy holds up Tarapur oil
Believe it or not, operator GSPC is still unable to begin oil production from the onshore Tarapur field because Indian Oil is waiting for a letter appointing it as the government’s nominee.
For more than a year GSPC has been patiently holding back production with six wells closed-in awaiting formal permission from the oil ministry. GSPC submitted the Tarapur development plan to the DGH in December 2007 but formal approval came only on May 4 this year when the Management Committee meeting minutes were signed after several missed dates.
But production cannot start unless IOC physically gets an oil ministry letter. Why the delay “We don’t know,†says GSPC.
“It’s very frustrating. We asked IOC to start taking the oil as the letter will come in due course but they want the letter first.
†GSPC (80%) reckons it can begin producing 600 b/d immediately from a 2.14-sq km patch of the 800-sq km block, where GeoGlobal Resources of Canada holds 20%.