OVL begins drilling in Iranian block

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has begun drilling for oil in Farshi offshore block of Iran.

"Well BB-4 was spud by rig Kedarnath on April 28," a company official said.

The rig was provided by ONGC from its fleet of offshore rigs to enable OVL to fulfil its work commitment in the Farsi block as OVL was unable to get rig in the international market due to right market conditions.

Farsi block is first OVL operated project in the Persian Gulf. The offshore exploration block is situated in the Iranian part of Persian Gulf, 90-km from Iranian port of Busheher, and measures about 6,700 sq km.

The official said OVL plans to drill a total of four wells, of which three are expected to be oil bearing with relatively shallow target depths of about 2,300 metres and simple well profile, while the fourth well is likely to be with high pressure and would target deeper target of about 3,400 metres.

OVL holds 40 per cent interest in Farsi block. Indian Oil Corporation has 40 per cent and the remaining 20 per cent is with Oil India Ltd. The Block was awarded to the consortium in 2002.

"After completing the reprocessing and interpretation of the old seismic data and new 2D and D3 data, the drilling locations were identified in consultation with ONGC's in-house team and OVL's international advisors," the official added.

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