ONGC seeks green nod for Rs 53k-cr KG-basin infra

Hyderabad, May 19: State-owned ONGC has approached the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) seeking clearance for drilling 45 Development Wells and other related infrastructure involving a cost of over Rs 53,000 crore in Krishna-Godavari basin.

An expert appraisal committee (EAC) under the MoEF, however, sought more information in this regard. The block KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 is divided into two parts -- Northern Development Area (NDA) which is deep waters with a depth of up to 1,800 metres, and Southern Development Area (SDA) which has ultra-deep waters with depth ranging up to 3,100 metres.

The present proposal is submitted for development in the Northern Development area. "The following facilities have been proposed to be set up as part of development drilling in NDA Offshore NELP-I Block KG-DWN-98/2 of KG Basin, Andhra Pradesh: Development drilling of 45 offshore wells, Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO), Fixed Offshore Platform, Subsea Equipment, Sub-sea pipeline and Onland Terminal," the EAC said in minutes of the meeting.

The NELP-I offshore block KG-DWN-98/2 is located off Godavari delta on the east coast of India. A public hearing was also conducted for the on-land terminal in December, 2013, by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board and other district officials.

"The proposal was deferred till the desired information is submitted. The above information shall be provided with the uploading of minutes on the website," the EAC said.

It asked for details on forest land involved and a copy of forest clearance, besides evacuation plans involving the cost implication and measures to be undertaken in the event of a tsunami and cyclone. ONGC is slated to begin production in 2019, with a peak output of 4.5 million tonnes a year, 20 per cent more than previous estimates.

The Krishna Godavari basin block KG-DWN-98/2, or KG-D5, will see first large oil production from the east coast, which has 10 gas discoveries, ONGC had earlier said. KG-D5 sits next to Reliance Industries' producing KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 area.

PTI