Oil Exploration Challenges in Wamaj Low, North Cambay Basin, India: A Case Study

Debashis Chakravorty and Mohan C. Kandpal
ONGC, Jorhat, India

India’s oil and gas industry is estimated to be a US$110 billion strong, and it is one of the largest contributors to the central and state exchequer. If the energy demand in general and India’s in particular is to increase by the same rate as in the previous 30 years, more than 100 million barrels per day of new oil production is needed by 2030. This future demand represents not only major opportunity for the long term value creation in the oil and gas industry, but also presents major exploration challenges to Indian Petroleum sector.

With this point of view and keeping in mind the fact that most of the conventional traps and easy to find oil have been explored, it is the unconventional areas where exploration needs to be concentrated. Some of the important areas that need immediate attention are the lows adjacent to major producing oil fields, which are the kitchen of hydrocarbon generation and the rising flank of the lows, where initial entrapment must have occurred.

One of the most important low, known for Hydrocarbon in the north Cambay Basin, namely, “Wamaj Low” that has generated and supplied hydrocarbon to the adjacent oil fields namely Sanand, Jhalora, Viraj and Kalol Fields, which are major oil producers in this part of Cambay Basin.

2-D seismic study had indicated prospects within broad Wamaj low and initial drilling has confirmed presence of oil-bearing Kalol sands, which were correlated with the adjacent producing fields. The present paper integrates disposition of Kalol pays in Wamaj Low with that of adjoining producing oil fields and formulate future exploration and development strategy. Confirmation of geological model would pave way for future exploration in various other lows around the hydrocarbon producing fields.

Presentation GEO India Expo XXI, Noida, New Delhi, India 2008©AAPG Search and Discovery