The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) may decide on bidding for exploratory rights in the Kerala-Konkan basin based on the outcome of a re-analysis of the geochemical and geosciences data collected from the region earlier, said Sushma Rawat, Director (Exploration) of the corporation.
The ONGC may participate in the ninth round of the bidding process under the New Exploration Licensing Policy if the results are encouraging, said Ms. Rawath on the sidelines of the Biennial International Conference of the Society of Petroleum Geophysicists, which is to begin here on Friday.
Ms. Rawat said the earlier efforts to find gas and oil in the basin had not yielded the desired results.
As many as 19 exploratory wells were drilled in the basin earlier. The seismic data collected from the operations and seabed will be analysed again to find out whether the region would yield any fresh results. Oil and gas remain elusive so far, she said.
The CH-1-1 well dug by the ONGC in the off-Cochin area was terminated as the results were not encouraging. During the exploration, a well was dug up to a depth of 4 km. The well in Quilon also had to be abandoned due to poor results. The results of the exploration at Kasaragod too were far from encouraging, she said.
The drilling can begin in three years after the ONGC wins the bid for the Kerala-Konkan basin. It will shortly begin the drilling exercise in the Gulf of Mannar and Kanyakumari region, she said.
The Oil India Limited, another public sector company, had won the exploratory rights in the Off-Kollam area earlier, she said.
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