NEW DELHI, JAN 29: With ONGC unable to make much headway in tackling the massive damage done to the oilfields at Bombay High and Neelam, it has decided to hire two foreign consultants at a cost of around $2 million (Rs 8 crore) each for their advice.It has hired Gaffney Cline Associates (GCA) of the UK for Bombay High and DeGolyer & MacNaughton (D&M) of the US for the Neelam fields off Mumbai. Both consultants are to submit their reports to ONGC within 3-4 months.
In the case of Bombay High, for example, years of bad drilling practices (`flogging', in jargon), particularly during the days of Colonel Wahi, have led to a situation in which just around 25 per cent of the total oil in the field can be extracted over its lifetime. International norms for such fields are in the region of 45 and 50 per cent. Initially, ONGC had estimated that it would be able to extract 35 per cent of the oil-in-place. This means, even according to its own initial estimates, ONGC has `lost' close to ten per cent of the totaloil in the field.
Similar losses apply to the Neelam field where estimates of recoverable reserves over the life of the field have fallen from 63 million tonnes in 1989 to around 24 million tonnes this year.
The GCA team which is expected to visit Bombay High on February 8 has asked ONGC to collect data on various parameters which it will then analyse and make suggestions as how the reservoir can be repaired.
GCA will be paid $ 350 per man hour, and Bora estimates that the total bill will come to around $ 2 million. The contract with GCA was signed a couple of days ago.
Apart from studying data on the reservoir for the Neelam fields and recommending a plan of action for repairing this, DeGolyer and McNaughton will also estimate the value of the field and the equipment already put in it by ONGC. This is to be done since ONGC is now planning to enter into a joint venture with one of the global oil majors and wants an accurate assessment of what the field is actually worth.
D&M will estimate how muchoil can now finally be recovered from the field and what additional investments will be required for this, in terms of fresh equipment. "This will help us avoid past controversies such as those of past-costs of a field, and whether ONGC is being compensated for this," says Bora.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
