New Delhi: State-run oil behemoth Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is undertaking various steps to increase the production of crude oil and gas by redevelopment of existing matured fields and development of new/marginal fields, said Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli on Monday. In a written response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha, Teli said that the decline in production of crude oil in recent years has been due to natural decline and increase in water cut in wells of matured fields.
"ONGC is undertaking various steps to increase the production by redevelopment of existing matured fields and development of new/marginal fields. These inter alia include development of discoveries in Krishna Godavari Basin, monetisation of discoveries in Nomination/New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) blocks, integrated development of fields, production enhancement contract in small fields, up-gradation/replacement of surface facilities etc. Un-viable small/marginal fields are developed through cluster development concept. Further, Improved Oil Recovery and Enhanced Oil Recovery technologies are inducted for enhancing recovery factor of matured fields," said the minister.
"The Government has introduced various policies for increasing production of oil and natural gas under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime, Discovered Small Field Policy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy, etc. Government has also provided functional freedom to National Oil Companies and has encouraged wider private sector participation by streamlining approval processes including electronic single window mechanism," he added.
According to the figures shared by the minister in the Rajya Sabha, ONGC's standalone crude oil production stood at 20.273 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in 2020-21, 20.714 MMT in 2019-20, 21.111 MMT in 2018-19, 22.305 MMT in 2017-18 and 22.249 MMT in 2016-17. The oil PSU's natural gas production, on the other hand, stood at 22.096 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) in 2020-21, 23.853 BCM in 2019-20, 24.747 BCM in 2018-19, 23.484 BCM in 2017-18 and 22.088 BCM in 2016-17.
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