Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Plans to Drill 18 Wells in Kharsang Field, Arunachal

Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) has announced its plan to increase oil production in the Kharsang field in Arunachal Pradesh, India. The company intends to drill 18 wells in the field, located approximately 100km from its gas-producing plant in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district. According to the field development plan approved by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the Kharsang Phase-I programme is expected to quadruple HOEC’s oil output to 1,800 barrels per day in three years. Each well would cost between $1.5m and $2m, said Pandarinathan Elango, Managing Director of HOEC. To begin work in the field, HOEC must first extend its production sharing contract (PSC) with the government by ten years. The Kharsang field is currently 30% owned by HOEC, of which 25% is direct and 5% is held via a holding in half of the equity of Geopetrol International. The remaining 70% is split between JIKPL, part of the Inverine Energy group, which holds a 25% stake, and Oil India Ltd, which holds the remaining 40%. HOEC plans to explore the gas potential of the field in phase two of the operation.