State-run ONGC is to hire the deepwater rig Deep Venture from Russia-based Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka (AMNGR) for two years to drill wells off both the east and west coasts of India.

The rig is capable of drilling wells in a water depth of up to 1,400 m (4,593 ft). The rig will mainly be used to drill appraisal wells in up to 10 blocks in the deep water Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea during the fiscal year 2013-14 (ending 31 March, 2014) and 2014-15.

The value of the contract is put at around US $330m.

The blocks feature water depths ranging from 580-1,400 m (1,903-4,593 ft), and include: KG-DWN-98/2 (average water depth approximately 524 m), MN-OSN-2000/2 (800 m), MN-DWN-98/3 (800 m), NEC-DWN-2002/2 (1,060 m), BB-OS-DW-I (1,100 m), and KG-OS-DW-III (650-700 m).

ONGC is committed to drill between 2-4 wells in each of these blocks under the minimum work programme of the Production Sharing Contracts.

ONGC chose the Deep Venture after a competitive bidding route that saw Transocean’s GSF Explorer miss out due to a higher lease price.

Offshore