ONGC to invest Rs 34012 Cr in Krishna-Godavari basin

The Oil and Natural Gas Commission has announced that it will be investing Rs 34,012 crore in the Krishna-Godavari basin so as to exploit crude oil and gas there by 2020. The 4-year investment is to bring Cluster 2A and Cluster 2B to use. By 2023, the field is expected to give an output of 3.5 million tonnes of oil. Gas production at its peak will be 5 billion cubic metres. ONGC's chairman DK Sarraf said on Monday that the company's K-G Cluster, popularly called KG-D5, is divided into three vertical clusters. Cluster 1 is involved in controversy with gas migrating to the adjoining field of Reliance Industries. That was why the ONGC was avoiding further investment in that cluster. Sarraf said the ONGC had enough funds for the investment. But at the appropriate time, the company might consider tapping the market. The government last month announced reforms to turn the hydrocarbon sector around. The decision included giving freedom to the companies in the pricing mechanism in the case of difficult wells.