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Mr. Roychoudhury started his technical presentation
with phases of exploration in Assam followed by Bengal, Bombay High,
Kutch-Saurastra and Krishna-Godavari Basin. He opined that the northern limit
of petroleum pool would be up to the Brahmaputra river, which was later
vindicated. Extensive exploratory drilling confirmed several prolific oil fields
like Lakwa, Geleki etc where the listric faults controls the accumulations.
Further on the exploration scenario of Bengal Basin he emphasized on the main
reasons of Bengal Basin being dry is lack of suitable generating center nearby
and absence of proper reservoir rock - cap rock - migration combination.
Shallow Pliocene gas can, however, be targeted in South Bengal.
On
the Bombay High. Mr Roychoudhury recalled that Bombay High structure was broadly
picked up with a rudimentary seismic survey and in the first well oil was struck
in Miocene carbonates. This field was then thoroughly delineated in the early to
mid seventies. Ultimately, Bombay High and other discovered fields of this area
proved to be the biggest oil and gas find in India’s history. He also presented
few slides on Kutch-Saurastra and Krishna-Godavari Basins.
Mr.
Roychoudhury while narrating ONGC’s hydrocarbon endeavor between 1956-1989,
appreciated the contribution made by the geoscientists of ONGC which he
emphasized that this is due to tremendous perseverance, determination and talent
of ONGC people. He wished that this great company, with its excellent manpower
and access to modern technology, is sure to climb greater heights in coming
days.
On
the issue of current oil crisis and long term exploration & production
strategies, Mr. Roychoudhury while remembering the days of 1950’s told that
in 1955, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru told the Indian Parliament that absence of oil
reserves was indication of the country’s major weakness; his utterance has
been prophetic and we are facing the harsh truth today as we did in 1974. Mr.
Roychoudhury mentioned that Oil meets 42% of world’s energy needs, and will
continue to do so for sometime to come. Fast growing large economies like China
and India, aspiring annual growth rates of 10%, will be fully dependent on crude
oil for their internal combustion engines. The fresh evidence of demand growth
underlines how rising appetite for oil is severely straining the global supply
system. He emphasized that, however, there are opportunities as the
current oil price (US$ 75-81 a barrel in real terms) raises a lot of incentives
for aggressive exploration and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. ONGC
should avail the present opportunity for aggressive exploration within the
country and outside and for EOR applications in the old oil fields. Besides, he
told that in the global perspective, natural gas will be the dominant energy
source during the first three decades or more of the 21st century. By
the middle of the century, major depletion of reserves will impact on the
dominance of gas as a readily available fossil fuel. By the last third of the
century Russia and Middle East are likely to be the only significant gas
supplier left in the world.
While concluding his lecture, Mr. Roychoudhury conveyed that the strategies /
activities suggested are long term affairs; there are hardly any short term
measures in E&P Business. The risk may be very high, but returns may be equally
rewarding. At last he narrated that "Helen Keller said that a society without
any risk is no society, and life without any adventure is no life". |
