MEIL set to commission 12 oil rigs for ONGC by May

Bhimavaram (Andhra Pradesh): Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), which is betting big on upstream oil and gas projects with global ambitions, has expedited the delivery of drilling rigs to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

The Hyderabad-based infrastructure major bagged an order in 2018 from ONGC to supply and commission 47 rigs in the petroleum major's oil and gas assets across the country. It had so far commissioned three rigs in the first lot of 15 rigs. It will commission remaining 12 rigs by May this year

"As the Covid-19 is in endemic stage, we have expedited the manufacturing of rigs and their deliveries as promised. We have manufactured all the rigs in the first lot of the ONGC's order. While three rigs were already commissioned, the fourth one will be done in two weeks' time. We are confident of commissioning the remaining in the first lot by May this year", K Satyanarayana, Technical Head, Oil & Gas Rigs Division, MEIL, told the media here on Tuesday.

MEIL is manufacturing all rigs indigenously under Atmanirbhar Bharat at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.

He further said that MEIL was playing a vital role in the energy sector, both upstream and downstream. "These state-of-the-art oil rigs will have the world's best and most advanced hydraulic technology features. As the energy prices soar, the advanced rigs are crucial for the Indian energy sector to drill the oil and gas wells faster and increase the oil and gas production for domestic use. MEIL is the first private player in India in manufacturing highly efficient oil drilling rigs with indigenous technology under the Make in India," he explained.

Recently, MEIL commissioned a 2,000-HP onshore drilling rig, the third one, at the ONGC's Rajahmundry asset at Deyyalathippa village near Bhimavaram in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. This is a state-of-the-art indigenous oil rig that is equipped with robotic arm, a first for an onshore drilling rig in the world. This 2,000-HP rig can give a performance equal to a 3,000-HP traditional rig. Currently being operated successfully, it can drill up to 6 kilometres deep into the earth.

"The rig drills the wells pretty quickly. It's a portable rig that can easily be dismantled and assembled again. The rig can drill under high pressures and high temperatures. It is equipped with high safety features like blowout prevention technology," Satyanarayana said during a media interaction.

Out of 47 rigs for which it received order from ONGC in a competitive bidding, 20 are workover rigs and 27 are land drilling rigs. The 20 workover rigs include 12 of 50-MT capacity while four rigs are of 100 MT, and the remaining four have a capacity of 150 MT each. Of the 27 land drilling rigs, two are mobile hydraulic rigs with a capacity of 1,500 HP, and 17 are AC VFD rigs with 1,500 HP capacity. Six others are AC VFD rigs having a capacity of 2,000 HP, and two others are HT VFD rigs of 2,000 HP.

MEIL will be supplying all the rigs to the ONGC assets in the Assam (Sibsagar, Jorahat), Andhra Pradesh (Rajahmundry), Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Ankaleshwar, Mehasana and Cambay), Tripura (Agartala) and Tamilnadu (Karaikal)