New reservoir tested at Assam’s Dirok gas field: Hardeep Puri

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Friday announced a major milestone achieved at the Dirok Field, located in the ON-94/1 block at Margarita in the Tinsukia district of Assam.

Operated by the Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) in partnership with Oil India Limited (OIL) and the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), the field has successfully tested a new reservoir, Sand-9, in well Dirok-1, which flowed at an impressive rate of 6 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The ongoing production testing aims to revise and add these volumes to the proven reserves of the Dirok Field.

The field is a joint venture (JV) operation, with HOEC holding a 26.88 per cent stake, Oil India Limited (OIL) holding 44.09 per cent, and the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) holding 29.03 per cent.

This collaborative effort operates under a production-sharing contract initially signed in June 1998. Exploration activities in the Dirok block commenced in November 2000, leading to the discovery of substantial gas reserves.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas granted commercial approval for the Dirok discovery, and production from the gas field began in August 2017. The field is estimated to hold 11.88 million metric barrels of oil equivalent, highlighting its significant potential to contribute to India’s energy needs.

The Dirok Field is currently undergoing Phase II development, which includes drilling three new development wells and laying a 35km pipeline extending to Duliajan. This development aims to increase gas production capacity from 35 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) to 55 mmscfd.

Upon completion of these developments, HOEC will have direct access to the North East market, reducing dependency on transportation partners and enhancing the efficiency and reach of gas distribution.