NEW DELHI: ONGC has begun revamping operations of the Panna-Mukta field with the aim of reducing costs and ramping up production after regaining full control of the block more than 25 years after discovering it off the Mumbai coast.
The twin fields reverted to ONGC last month after the 25-year government contract, originally signed with a consortium of US major Enron and Reliance Industries, for the block expired on December 21. One of the first actions taken by state-run company was to scrap the costly shipping contract with Mercator and give it to public sector Shipping Corporation of India, resulting in a saving of $5,000 per day.
The ships, which act as floating storage, fill up the oil from the field and transport it to the shore for processing before being pumped into the pipeline network. ONGC has hired a Shipping Corporation ship for 18 months, by which time it expects to lay an undersea pipeline to carry crude to the shore. This will offer a safer and more economical mode for evacuating higher output.
