Barmer, May 2021.

Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Limited, India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company, has achieved a significant milestone by starting production from its NA #01 facility in Aishwariya Barmer Hills in Rajasthan. The project is a first in Cairn’s tight oil portfolio with a growth potential to contribute 20% to the company’s vision production.

The project has been executed in collaboration with leading global oilfields services company, Schlumberger. It took more than 900 days and over 3 million man-hours to complete the entire surface facility, including activities like hot work, equipment erection, hydro testing, hot tapping, commissioning, electrical system charging, tie-in with a live existing facility, and well hookup. More than 600 contractors and 50 contractor engineers, in addition to Cairn’s engineers worked tirelessly to complete the facility.

Speaking about the project, Prachur Sah, Deputy CEO, Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd., said, “The ABH tight oil project is yet another example of our commitment to growing India’s E&P sector through the deployment of advanced technologies. It is also a testament to India’s hydrocarbons potential, wherein we have been successful in enhancing production from ageing fields. We will continue to explore ways in which we can add to domestic production of crude oil and advance the nation towards energy self-sufficiency.”

Gautam Reddy, Managing Director, India and Bangladesh, Schlumberger, said, “Schlumberger thanks Vedanta for the opportunity to work together as growth partners to achieve Vedanta’s vision to produce 50% of India’s oil and gas. The partnership has witnessed operational excellence while maintaining safety and operations integrity as the top priority. Some achievements include completing the longest horizontal lateral in India via cutting-edge technologies like PowerDrive* Rotary Steerable System along with ROPO* digital drilling optimizer, Periscope HD* Real time boundary mapping service & Broadband Precision* Integrated completion service. Efficient planning and execution, teamwork, and the spirit of collaboration enabled a 30% increase in reservoir coverage and up to 700% improvement in hydraulic fracturing operational efficiency.”

The ABH development uses some of the most advanced technologies for its operations. It is the largest horizontal well with multi-frac development campaign of 37 wells in the Indian subcontinent which is the key enabler to unlock tight oil. Some of the key technologies deployed in the project are:

·        Periscope-HD was used for the first time in India to geo-steer wells in the low resistivity contrast zones.

·         CamLift HPU was used to minimize surface footprint of ALS system

·      Broad-Band Precision completion was also used for the first time in India to maximize frac efficiency and 446 Frac stages was pumped in a single campaign.

·    There are plans in place to implement more advanced technologies like steam injection, reservoir modelling of a complex hybrid system.