The Financial Express: ONGC Targets 81% Jump in Gas Output by 2019-20

State-run ONGC is targeting to hike its natural gas output by 81% to 116 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) by 2019-20. Currently, ONGC producers roughly four-fifth of domestic gas.

The projection is being shared by the government-owned explorer with the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, sources said. The aggressive pitch to increase output follows petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s stern directions to the explorer to increase hydrocarbon production. ONGC’s production of oil and gas has been stagnant for the past few years, partly due to huge subsidy burden on the firm that forced it to cut on capital spending, but also, analysts say, bacause of a slippage in efficiency.

In order to achieve the new target for gas production, Dinesh K Sarraf, chairman and MD of ONGC, told FE that projects worth R22,500 crore in the western offshore have already been approved by the PSU’s board. Other projects worth nearly R30,000 crore for the East Coast are under advanced stages of execution and would be taken up by the board latest by March 30, he added. Incremental production is expected from KG basin (KG-DWN-98/2), Vashistha, Bassein and Daman fields. MORE