New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off on Saturday the first crude oil tanker, ‘Swarna Sindhu,’ from state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) deepwater block in KG Basin. At its peak production, the deepwater block will add 7 percent each to India’s oil and gas production. “Marking a historic achievement in India’s energy sector, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the ‘First Crude Oil’ tanker ‘Swarna Sindhu’ from ONGC’s Krishna Godavari deepwater block today,” said ONGC in a statement.
Commenting on the significance of the development, ONGC said, “The extraction of ‘First Oil’ from KG Basin marks a historic achievement in India’s energy sector, promising to significantly reduce our dependence on energy imports. The project also heralds a new era in India’s energy sector, promising to bolster energy security and foster economic resilience.”
The flag-off ceremony, organised in Begusarai in Bihar, was graced by Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Giriraj Singh, Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department and MP, Begusarai Loksabha constituency, along with Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, and senior dignitaries from the Petroleum Ministry, ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh and Directors of ONGC.
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, said the statement.
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) 45,000 BOPD (Barrels of Oil per day).
During its life cycle, the project KG-DWN-98/2 Cluster-II will add a total of 30.5 BCM (Billion Cubic Meter) of Gas and 14.24 MMT (Million Tons) of oil to the Indian domestic oil and gas production.
“ONGC had all subsea structures fabricated by Indian manufacturers at Kattupalli, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” the statement added.
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