Mumbai/Ahmedabad:

Essar Oilfields Services (India) Limited (EOSIL) today announced that it has commenced a contract awarded by Mercator Petroleum to drill two firm oil wells and one optional oil well in the Cambay Basin.

With the company commencing a few other drilling contracts in this fiscal, EOSIL is expecting to clock revenues of $48 million in this fiscal.

The Cambay rift Basin, a rich Petroleum Province of India, is a narrow, elongated rift graben, extending from Surat in the south to Sanchor in the north in Gujarat. In the north, the basin narrows, but tectonically continues beyond Sanchor to pass into the Barmer Basin of Rajasthan. On the southern side, the basin merges with the Bombay Offshore Basin in the Arabian Sea. The basin is roughly limited by latitudes 21˚ 00′ and 25˚ 00′ N and longitudes 71˚ 30′ and 73˚ 30′ E.

Mr Rajeev Nayyer, CEO, EOSIL in a statement today said: “This contract bears testimony to Essar’s 25-year expertise in the contract drilling business that is backed by world-class assets. Along with the other drilling contracts that we have commenced this fiscal, the Mercator contract will add substantially to our topline growth. We are well placed to capitalise on the upswing that we see in the oil & gas exploration sector and drive sustainable growth.”

Essar Rig MR01 (1000 HP), the latest addition to the EOSIL fleet of rigs, has started drilling the first well for Mercator. A trailer-mounted mechanical rig that is capable of drilling up to a depth of 11,000 ft, it has proved to be an outstanding performer during its six exploratory well contracts with Bharat Petro Resources Limited, which were part of its previous assignment.

In addition to its 15 land rigs, EOSIL also operates the offshore rig, Essar Wildcat, which is a semi-submersible rig capable of drilling in water depths of up to 1,600 feet and drilling depth of up to 25,000 feet. Since May 2017, this rig has been deployed on a three-year contract with ONGC on the east coast of India. After completing its work programme in the first location, it is currently at ONGC’s second location and is drilling a deeper exploratory well.

The Oilfields Services business provides contract drilling services to oil & gas companies across the globe. The company was incorporated in 2006 with a focus on providing quality onshore and offshore drilling services to domestic, as well as international clients. With a diverse mix of rigs in its fleet, EOSIL continues to win and execute projects for prestigious clients, such as ONGC, Oil India, HOEC, IOC and GAIL.

DeshGujarat