AGARTALA / GUWAHATI, October 3 (TIWN): Alongwith predominant state run ONGC, GAIL and other central PSUs, private player Jubilant Energy has also been striving towards discovering Exploration and Production (E&P) facilities in Tripura. Though, still the commercial production is yet to take off but the company is on its way of progress and soon it may start to make an optimum utilization of its Tripura discoveries. The Tripura block is code named as AA-ONN 2002/1. Jubilant Energy is an emerging oil and gas player in India, engaged in upstream E&P since 1995. The company has a diversified and balanced portfolio comprising of seven key blocks in various stages of Exploration, Development and Production. Of these seven blocks, six are in India and one in Myanmar.The Tripura Block is located onshore in the fold belt area of the Assam-Arakan Basin in northeastern India in the State of Tripura. The Assam-Arakan Basin is India’s oil producing basin and contains some of India’s largest producing fields such as Nahorkatiya, Lakwa, Moran and Digboi.

The first commercial discovery was made in Digboi in 1889. The hydrocarbon province of the Tripura Block extends into Bangladesh. Regionally, the area tends to be gas-prone and there are several examples of local multi-Tcf gas fields. 

Jubilant has a 20% Participating Interest and is the operator of the Tripura Block. GAIL holds the remaining 80%. The present block area, net of relinquishment, is 1,260 sq kms and is located east of ONGC’s Baramura gas field and adjacent to the ONGC’s TMD-1 gas discovery to the east.  Three exploration wells were drilled in the Phase I exploration programme. Two of the three wells, viz., Kathalchari-1 and Ambasa North, were declared as discovery wells. Two appraisal wells, Srikantabari-1 (SK-A1) and KL-NE were drilled to appraise the Kathalchari-1 discovery. 

The Company submitted the Declaration of Commerciality (DOC) proposal for the Kathalchari discovery after incorporating the results of the wells drilled in the Tulamura anticline (Srikantabari-1, KL-NE and Matabari-1) which was recommended for development by the Management Committee (MC) on 28th December 2012, for its review with following parameters.

Jubilant is now in the process of preparing an FDP for this discovery. The consortium will now submit a Field Development Plan (FDP) by 12th January 2015 in accordance with the PSC provisions.

Jubilant entered the Phase II exploration programme and drilled Matabari-1 in the Tulamura anticline. Matabari-1 well was spudded in May 2012 to explore the hydrocarbon potential of the Lower Miocene Lower Bhuban and Late Oligocene Renji sands as primary objectives and the Middle Bhuban sands as a secondary objective. This was the first exploratory well in the block targeting deeper objectives beyond the Middle Bhuban. 

Under Exploration Phase II, Jubilant has made 2 more discoveries in the second exploratory well i.e. NA  (North Atharamura)-1 at 610 m sand (Middle Bhuban) and at 2185 m sand (Lower Bhuban) and Format A (Discovery notification) for Object-I 2185-2191m and Object-II 610-625m submitted to Director General of Hydrocarbon  (DGH)  on 27th May 2013 and 31st May 2013, respectively. 
Format B (notification of potential commercial interest in the discovery) for Object II has been submitted on 4th July, 2013 and accepted by DGH and Operator has been asked to submit Appraisal Plan within stipulated time-frame (12 months from submission of Format B) as per Production Sharing Contract (PSC) guidelines.

However, TIWN sources revealed that Jubilant and GAIL have been making desperate efforts to sell their Tripura stake to the Oil and Gas major ONGC. The probable reasons of the blackout are classified, as of now.