Unocal looking at other exploration blocks in India

Monday, 13 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: U.S-based Unocal Corp is looking at new exploration opportunities in India even as it awaits Dhaka's nod to start supplying gas to Indian consumers from Bibiyana field in Bangladesh. As a 26 percent stake holder in one of India's first private sector oil exploration companies, Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC), Unocal is engaged in exploration and production activity around a dozen blocks. Most of these are in Gujarat, at the offshore Cambay basin on the west coast and the Cauvery basin on the east coast. HOEC holds many of these blocks jointly with other exploration companies. The other equity holders in HOEC are the Britain-based Hardy Oil and Gas Plc (15 percent stake), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (10 percent) and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) (five percent). The public holds the rest. "As majority stake holders in HOEC, we are taking a look at other opportunities in India that may be offered by the government in the next round of blocks offered for bids under NELP (new exploration licensing policy)," Andrew Fawthrop, vice president of Unocal International Energy Operations, told IANS on the sidelines of the Petrotech 2003 conference here. India is planning to invite bids for over a dozen blocks, both onshore and offshore, in the fourth round of NELP in April once the seismic survey reports have been finalised by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon by March-end, official sources said. "We would like to participate in the next round of bids and will decide on the blocks after detailed analyses of the data are made available," said Fawthrop. Besides the offshore block CB-OS-1 in the Cambay basin, HOEC is carrying out exploration work in the Pranhita Godavari onshore block, the Krishna-Godavari offshore block, PY-3 and PY-1 block in Cauvery Basin and the Asjol oil field. While PY-3 and Asjol are producing oil fields, PY-1 field has gas reserves, which are currently in development phase. The PY-3 block accounts for 98 percent of the company's revenue. After phase II, which is nearing completion, PY-3 block will be tackled - it is estimated to have crude oil reserves of 17 million barrels. Five of HOEC fields in Cambay offshore, another two in Gujarat, Assam onshore and Cauvery offshore are in exploration stage. In addition, HOEC has presence in six small fields with existing wells. On pending plans to bring gas from Bangladesh to India via a 1,363-km pipeline, Fawthrop said: "All the stakeholders have to be comfortable before the activity can begin. So far, while on the Indian side the market and the operators of the proposed pipeline are comfortable, Bangladesh has to still decide on the amount of gas they can afford to export taking into account their growing domestic needs." Unocal is keen to supply 500 million cubic feet of gas per day to India through the pipeline from Bangladesh. Once the pipeline from Bibiyana field becomes operation, Fawthrop sees good potential for India to build a linking pipeline to evacuate gas supplies from Tripura. Due to the difficult topography of Tripura, India's exploration major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has not been able to tap the rich hydrocarbon reserves in the state and make it accessible in major markets in the country. Depending on imports for 70 percent of its domestic demands, India is nonetheless awaiting favourable signs from Bangladesh before embarking on plans to lay gas pipeline from Tripura to West Bengal via Bangladesh.
Source: IANS
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