ONGC submits new plan for Farzad gas field in Iran

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has submitted a revised plan to explore and develop the giant Farzad B gas block in Iran, which includes the commitment to contribute more than USD 3 billion.

The company is planning to produce between 1 billion and 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of gas in the coming five years from the beginning of development of the block.

India is the second largest importer of Iranian crude oil and was one of the countries that continued to trade with Iran even while c faced Western sanctions on account of its nuclear plan. However, since Iran has been trying to attract other investors too, the chances of India being assigned the Farzad block are slim.

Thus, the slender prospects has forced Indian refiners to be less dependent on imports from Iran and reduce imports from that country by one-fifth in 2017-18.

ONGC is likely to increase the production to 14 million tonnes oil equivalent during the financial year ending March 2018. It is also planning to invest USD 45 million to produce from gas wells owned by Imperial Energy.