Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Tuesday said its Sagar Samrat has started oil and gas production in the Arabian Sea.
The offshore drilling rig of ONGC 'Sagar Samrat' was commissioned as a mobile offshore production unit (Mopu) on December 23, 2022. The Sagar Samrat jackup is managed by ONGC, owned by ONGC and became operational in 1973. A mobile offshore production unit is any type of portable structure that can be reused while procuring oil and gas from the seabed.
According to a statement shared with exchanges on Tuesday, Sagar Samrat Mopu will handle up to 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil, with a maximum export gas capacity of 2.36 million cubic metres per day. It is expected to add 6,000 bbl/day of oil to ONGC's production in the coming days.
The first oil from WO-16 cluster flowed into the processing system of Mopu and dispatch to onshore terminal commenced, the oil giant said on Tuesday.
WO-16 is a cluster of four marginal fields in the Arabian Sea at a water depth of 75-80 m and 130 km from Mumbai which is about 40 km from the Mumbai High.
Since no nearby facility exists to produce from this field, it was planned to install a Mopu for the production, processing and transportation of oil and gas from WO-16 Cluster.
The project to convert jack-up rig Sagar Samrat into a Mopu was awarded to a consortium of Mercator Oil and Gas Ltd, Mercator Offshore and Gulf Piping Company (GPC) on November 17, 2011.
After several hurdles like the legal challenges and Covid-19, the Mopu was transported to India, on a heavy lift vessel and post statutory clearances, successfully installed close to the WO-16 wellhead platform on 16 April 2022.
The Sagar Samrat conversion project is one of the most complex projects executed by ONGC, the oil giant said. The company said the Mopu stands tall in the Arabian Sea, as a testimony, to narrate the stories of several tough decisions taken during its execution and the excellent stakeholder consultation by ONGC which eventually yielded results.
According to ONGC, Sagar Samrat was instrumental in the discovery of the biggest oil field in India -- Mumbai High -- in 1974, bringing fortunes to the company and transforming oil map of India. Over the years, the rig drilled over 125 wells and has been involved with 14 key offshore oil and gas discoveries.
After serving its life as a jack-up rig, ONGC decided to convert it into a Mopu for producing from the WO-16 cluster. Later, this will be shifted to other locations for the monetisation of other discoveries.
( With inputs from ANI )
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