Oil India Limited (OIL) on Friday said natural gas has been encountered in its second exploratory well Vijayapuram-2 (Loc. OAEA), drilled in the Offshore Andaman Block AN-OSHP-2018/1 under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
In a statement, the Maharatna company under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said preliminary analysis of gas samples collected during intermittent inflow as part of initial production testing has confirmed the presence of natural gas.
“Further gas isotope studies are being undertaken so as to understand the genesis of the gas,” the company said.
According to OIL, preliminary assessment suggests that the reported occurrence could indicate the presence of a source, migration pathway or hydrocarbon accumulation, which will guide future exploration and drilling strategy.
The company is also carrying out additional testing of higher-up prospects to further evaluate the reported occurrence.
“This is the first reported occurrence of hydrocarbon during the ongoing exploration campaign in Andaman Shallow Offshore Block,” OIL said.
