HOEC signs revenue-sharing contract with India for new block

Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) has signed a revenue-sharing contract with the Indian Government over an oil and gas block won by the company in a recent auction.

Located in Assam, block AA-ONHP-2017/19 was secured in the first round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) under which the government awarded 55 blocks to several oil and gas firms.

Covering an area of 79km², the block is located adjacent to the HOEC-operated Dirok field.

In a stock exchange filing, HOEC said: “Dirok field and its extension through this Block AA-ONHP2017/19, forms one Greater Dirok Area that is part of a proven petroleum system.

“Since HOEC understands this basin well and has adequate data, we plan to fast-track the exploration phase to quickly monetise on success.”

The company noted that demand for gas from the Dirok field is growing. Hence, the project partners recommended a revised plan of development (RPoD) of Dirok for submission to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH).

Under the RPoD, the Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR) under 2P case is projected to be around 305BCF against the EUR of 134.09BCF outlined in the original Plan of Development.

The partners intend to drill four new development wells and explore a new prospect in the North of Dirok field within the existing area in an effort to raise the gas production by about 55mmscfd from the exiting 35mmscfd.

Vedanta picked up a majority of the blocks under the OALP auction, bagging 41, while the remaining were awarded to Oil India (9), ONGC (2), BPCL’s Bharat Petro Resources (1), GAIL (India) (1) and HOEC (1).

OALP is a critical part of India’s Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) as the government looks to increase domestic production and reduce dependence on fuel imports to 50% by 2030.