Referring to the Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 crore redevelopment plan of Bombay High, Bora said the report for northern part was awaiting board approval while that of the southern was under final stages of preparation.The fields have been producing for more than 20 years and the decline rate has come down to 6.5 per cent, he added. Production at Bombay High is likely to be around 10.5 million tonnes, the same as last year, Bora said.

On drilling operations in Sagar Vijay at Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, he said geological prospects "are bright and we expect to go below the 1,000 metres water depth by September." With regard to overseas operations, Bora said, in Vietnam, where ONGC Videsh has an ongoing joint venture, gas production is scheduled to begin in 2002. A memorandum of understanding for joint exploration and production was also being mooted with Petrolas, Venezuala's state-owned company, he said. "Nothing has been identified as yet, but two meetings have been held in this regard by the Indo-Venezeula protocol," Bora said.

Meanwhile, ONGC sources said the redevelopment plan which is spread over two to three years involves drilling of additional wells, water injection wells, construction of new offshore wells platforms and enhancing the capacity of existing ones by adding clamp-on structures.

The plan also involves laying additional pipeline network in the region and for interconnecting the wells, and main platforms.Post-redevelopment, the recovery rate from the ONGC field would rise to 30 per cent to 35 per cent from the current 26 per cent, also enhancing the life of the field and increase total recovery in the next 10 to 15 years, they said. UK-based oil field consultants Gaffeny Cline and Associates have been roped in to develop a strategy for the redevelopment and they have suggested introduction of multi-disciplinary concept, innovative technologies, cost cutting methods to reduce the cost of production, sources added.