ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas investment arm of India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has entered the development stage for block BM-SEAL-4, in Brazil.
The move follows a detailed evaluation, after OVL registered a major gas discovery in the deep offshore block in 2019.
According to an OVL statement, the company entered the development stage of the BM-SEAL-4 with the submission of the declaration of commerciality (DoC).
Petrobras operates the block, situated in the Sergipe Alagoas basin, with a 75% stake while ONGC Videsh owns the remaining 25%.
In 2019, Petrobras and ONGC Videsh drilled the Moita Bonita-2 well in the BM-SEAL-4 block, at a water depth of 2,629m.
The well encountered gas-bearing sand with a total thickness of 39m, and oil-bearing sand that was 24m thick, at depths of 5,227m.
The drilling result showed good production from the reservoir, ONGC said at the time.
As per the development plan, Petrobras will install a shared floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit and a gas pipeline at the block.
According to an OVL statement, “The name suggested to the Brazilian regulator for the field is Budião. The development module is presently in the contract planning phase, and is expected to start production after 2026.
“The consortium plans to continue all operational activities for submission of the development plan to the regulator, and meeting the target for the first oil.”
Last year, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that ONGC Videsh and Petronet LNG were in talks to buy a 9.9% stake in the $21.3bn Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, from Russia’s LNG producer Novatek PJSC.
