Taps LOOSENED

New Delhi, Jan. 1: The giant A-1 block in Myanmar, in which ONGC-Videsh and GAIL (India) together have a 30 per cent stake, has 2.9 to 3.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in store.

The estimate for the ‘original gas in place’ for the offshore Shwe field has been announced by the consortium partners based on an independent assessment done by the Houston based consulting firm, Ryder Scott Company.

Daewoo International Corporation is the largest shareholder of the gas field project with a 60 per cent stake, while ONGC-Videsh holds 20 per cent and GAIL (India) 10 per cent in the project. The remaining 10 per cent is owned by Korea Gas Corporation.

According to an ONGC statement, the consortium has already started the 2005-06 drilling campaign with Shwe Nilar-1 well near the Shwe field since mid-December. The exploratory drilling is expected to increase the prospect of ‘in-place gas’ volume in the Shwe area.

The Reliance discovery in the KG basin had also started with an initial estimate of 3.5 tcf of ‘gas in place’ which was later revised upwards after drilling more wells.

The Shwe Phyu field, another discovery in block A-1, will be appraised by drilling three wells during the ongoing campaign. The consortium will also start an exploration programme in Block A-3 by drilling the first exploratory well, Mya-1, in the beginning of 2006. During the 2005-06 drilling campaign, the consortium will drill six to seven wells in Blocks A-1 and A-3. These wells include three appraisal wells at the Shwe Phyu field, two or three exploratory wells for the Shwe Nilar and Ngwe North prospects in Block A-1 and one exploratory well to test the Mya prospect in Block A-3.

ONGC group chairman Subir Raha said, “The feasibility study for the development of these fields has already been undertaken and efforts are being made to bring the gas to India.”

Various pipeline routes for liquefied natural gas and CNG are being explored to bring the gas to India. However, the price of the gas will determine in what quantities the gas will be imported.

The shortest pipeline route is through Bangladesh, but due to political reasons this option may have to be ruled out.

India and Myanmar have also held discussions to lay a transnational pipeline to bring the gas from Myanmar to Bengal bypassing Bangladesh.

Myanmar energy minister Lun Thi, who was in Delhi in July this year, had said the gas from the A-1 offshore block would still take ‘some years’ to flow to India as the block was still being developed. It would also take some time to lay the pipeline and set up the distribution network, he said.

“Although I cannot specify a timeframe, we are working to make the gas available as soon as possible,” Thi added.