CHENNAI: Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) on Wednesday said that its first indigenously-made oil drilling rig has begun operations at the Kalol oil fields in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. MEIL is the first company in the private sector to manufacture and use rigs used in the oil and fuel extraction segment, a statement said.
The rig, which became operational on Wednesday, is part of an order worth Rs 6,000 crore for 47 drilling rigs that MEIL bagged from ONGC in 2019 through a tender process. According to the company, boasting a capacity of 1500 HP (horse power), these rigs can easily dig oil wells up to a depth of 4,000 meters (4 kilometers) from ground level and have a life span of 40 years.
The remaining 46 rigs, the company pointed out, are in various stages of manufacture currently. Of these, two are in the assembly stage in the oil fields of Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, while the remaining will be supplied to ONGC’s oil fields in Assam, Tripura, and Tamil Nadu.
“We can improve the domestic economy by increasing domestic oil production, (which will) reduce the oil import burden. ONGC will benefit from these advanced rigs manufactured with the latest technology,” said P Rajesh Reddy, MEIL Vice President, “The company, aims to begin commercial production soon with the advanced indigenous technology to drilling oil wells”. Reddy added that MEIL has become a hope for India in the area of oil and fuel extraction rigs, for which it was mostly dependent on imports until now.