ONGC raises oil recovery rate; addresses drilling concerns

June 10, 2008
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. of India (ONGC) has achieved close to 32% oil recovery rate in some of its major producing projects, its chairman and managing director R. S. Sharma told attendees at the Asia Oil and Gas Conference.

Gurdip Singh
Contributing Editor

KUALA LUMPUR -- Oil and Natural Gas Corp. of India (ONGC) has achieved close to 32% oil recovery rate in some of its major producing projects, its chairman and managing director R. S. Sharma told attendees at the Asia Oil and Gas Conference.

"We have been working on raising oil recovery rate from our fields to 40% from 25% in the past, and have achieved nearly 32% in 18 producing fields," he said in a presentation on the state of the industry.

But Sharma regretted that some new large scale hydrocarbon developments were facing a shortage of rigs, which were required for further appraisal drilling work.
Recent discoveries have indicated a potential of huge hydrocarbon reserves in deep and ultra deep reservoirs but there is a shortage of drilling facilities, he added.

While the overall industry faces many challenges, Sharma recommended efficient management of existing oil and gas assets. He also urged the industry to search for new and challenging locations for oil and gas reserves, and highlighted the need to strengthen service providers for E&P resources, amidst the challenges of proceeding with the projects.

06/10/2008