ONGC Abandons Drilling in Kanchon Gas Well

India's ONGC Videsh Ltd has plugged and abandoned drilling Kanchon gas well as the firm couldn't discover any hydrocarbon in Bangladesh's shallow-water gas block.

The explorers drilled beyond its targeted depth of around 4,228 metres beneath the surface in search of a commercially viable deposit of gas in the block SS-04 situated on Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, said a senior energy ministry official.

"Plugging and abandoning the well means the well does not have prospect of hydrocarbon reserves," he says-on a note of frustration as the country smarts under gas shortages following a virtual pause in exploration of new gas reserves and opts for expensive LNG import.

Only what could be found were huge deposits of clay and shell-stone sequence in absence of sandstone, meaning there is no gas-reserve prospect there.

The Indian firm was, however, upbeat about discovering three layers of gas structures having the total gas potential resources of around 1.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in the SS-04 block covering some 7,269 square kilometres (sq km), which prompted the company to carry out the exploratory drilling.