ONGC Videsh Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the National Oil Company of India, has spudded its first well Kanchan#1 in Block SS04, Bangladesh, on 29th September 2021 at Maheshkhali Island. This exploratory well is planned to be drilled to a depth of 4200 m and will be targeting two prospective formations. This well marks the beginning of exploratory drilling in Bangladesh by ONGC Videsh and will be followed by drilling at two more exploratory locations.
ONGC Videsh Ltd., in consortium with Oil India Ltd. (OIL), was awarded two shallow offshore Blocks SS-04 and SS-09 in Bangladesh during the Bid Round of 2012. The Production Sharing Contract (PSC) was signed between ONGC Videsh, OIL and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Company Limited (BAPEX) in February, 2014. ONGC Videsh, with Participating Interest (PI) of 45%, is the Operator with OIL (45% PI) and BAPEX (10% PI) as the other partners. BAPEX is being carried equally by ONGC Videsh and OIL up to commercial discovery stage.
All pre-drilling activities were completed with the rig being on location in late 2019 and with spudding scheduled for March 2020. However, the drilling had to be deferred due to COVID-19 pandemic. After the easing of restrictions and resolving the issues owing to deferment of initial plans, in September 2021, the drilling of well has commenced on 29th September 2021.