Cairn expects decline in Ravva oil field

Kolkata: Cairn India expects the oil production from Ravva oil field to come off the plateau rate of 50,000 barrels some time in the next 12 months. The company, which is the operator of Ravva joint venture, has already recovered 200 million tonnes (mt) of oil against an initial recoverable reserve estimate of 101 mt.

Discovered in 1987 by ONGC, the oilfield operation changed hands to the Ravva joint venture through a production-sharing contract signed in 1994. At the time of the signing, the field was producing 3,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

According to a press release issued by Cairn, due to various development measures undertaken by the joint venture, the field reached a production level of 35,000 bopd in 1997 and since then the field was operating at a plateau production rate of 50,000 bopd.

The production from the mature field declined marginally in 2007 but was soon restored to the plateau rate by an 18-month-long $100 million infill as well as exploratory drilling campaign completed in early 2008.

“Ravva is a mature field and as per global E&P norms has hit the declining phase. While, the joint venture is still maintaining the production at plateau rate, we expect the production to come off the current rate sometime in the next 12 months,” a Cairn official told Business Line, adding that the venture had achieved a recovery rate of 60 per cent from Ravva oilfield.

Apart from Cairn, the other partners in the venture are ONGC, Videocon and Ravva Oil. The oilfield crossed the 200-million barrels of oil production landmark end of last week. Apart from oil Ravva also produces a little over 2 million standard cubic metre of natural gas.According to available estimates, the joint venture has so far invested approximately $900 million leading to a profit petroleum of more than $3 billion. At the current average price of $100 a barrel, the average earnings are in the range of $5 million a day.