PM Flags Off 1st Crude Oil From ONGC's KG Project

New Delhi, Mar 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off tanker 'Swarna Sindhu', carrying the first parcel of crude oil from ONGC's recently commissioned Krishna Godavari deepwater project.

At its peak production, this project will add 7 per cent each to India's oil and gas production, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said in a statement.

The flag-off ceremony was organised in Begusarai in Bihar.

The ONGC's KG block KG-DWN-98/2, which started oil production in January, lies in Andhra offshore.

The field is producing some 12,000-12,500 barrels of oil per day currently, using a floating production and storage offloading (FPSO). The oil is stored on the FPSO, and once it reaches a critical level, it is transferred to a ship, which carries it to a refinery on the coast for processing into fuels like petrol and diesel.

It is not clear what Begusarai had to do with the project.

Shapoorji Pallonji's FPSO Armada Sterling V is used to produce oil from the ONGC project.

In a separate statement, Shapoorji Pallonji said the FPSO did the offloading of crude onto Swarna Sindhu on February 27.

"This successful demonstration of the robustness and reliability of all FPSO systems firmly positions India on the global stage," it added.

The FPSO unit has been built and is being operated by Shapoorji Pallonji Energy Private Limited (SP Energy).

The FPSO achieved "First Oil" on January 7, 2024.

FPSO Armada Sterling V is the largest floating installation ever deployed in the Indian subcontinent. It has a processing capacity of over 50,000 barrels of oil per day, and 3 million standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) of gas as well as a storage capacity of 7,00,000 barrels.

During the event, the Prime Minister also dedicated ONGC's Mumbai High North Oil Field Redevelopment Phase IV, Heera Redevelopment Phase-III and phase-II development in Krishna Godavari Nagayalanka NELP Block to the nation.

Developed with an investment of over Rs 41,000 crore, the KG-DWN 98/2 Deepwater Oil Field M in Krishna Godavari Basin is one of the most technologically complex projects.

The total envisaged peak gas production and oil production from the project is about 10 MMSCMD (million standard cubic meters per day) and 45,000 BOPD (Barrels of Oil per day), respectively.