In an overarching effort to strengthen the energy security of India amidst escalating geopolitical tensions and energy conundrums, the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC) has commenced domestic gas production off the coast of Gujarat in the Arabian Sea. This accelerated gas production is championed under the Daman Upside Down Development Project of the oil corporation.
The aim is to produce 21.5 billion cubic metres of gas per day currently and the aim is to peak the gas production to 5 million standard cubic metres per day in the near future. The production will spike in a phased manner. This illustrates the consistent commitment and efforts of the government to consolidate the energy security of its people as the global energy supply chain dwindles due to the geopolitical contestation in the gulf region, which is an epicentre to secure global energy needs.
ONGC stated that the project is situated about 180 kms north-west of Mumbai and about 80 kms south of Pipavav, Gujarat. Thus, on March 29, ONGC scripted a milestone by monetizing the gas reserves. Accordingly, the drilled gas was let to flow through Platform B-12-24P. Gas monetisation refers to a process of converting natural gas reserves into profitable and marketable products such as Liquified Petroleum Gas(LPG).
Post the successful drilling of the gas, it was streamlined or commissioned to Hazira Plant, ONGC further added in its statement. The Hazira plant, located near Surat is one of the critical industrial hubs to process the natural gas commissioned from the offshore fields such as Daman. Ongc also stated that the Daman project has been executed at a stellar speed as it is accelerated in less than two years since the date of awarding of the project.
“This(commissioning) has been achieved through strong project execution, innovative use of the drill-deck and strong performance by drilling and production teams. This milestone marks the commencement of gas monetisation from the DUDP (Daman Upside Development Project)”,, ONGC asserted. DUDP envisioned by ONGC is an ambitious domestic gas production project in the Arabian Sea worth USD 1 billion.
