Oil India

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Oil India Ltd., (OIL) is a large natural gas and petroleum company in India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Government of India. OIL is engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of liquid petroleum gas.

OIL is the pioneer in exploration and production of hydrocarbons in India, and traces its roots back to Oil India Private Ltd., formed in 1959 with The Burmah Oil Company Ltd. holding two-thirds of equity and Government of India holding one-third. Oil India Private evolved into Oil India Ltd., which was an equal partnership between Burmah Oil and Government of India. In 1983 the company became a public sector undertaking of the Government of India.

The Company presently produces over 3.2 MMTPA (million tons per annum) of crude oil, over 5 MMSCMD of Natural Gas and over 50,000 Tones of LPG annually. Most of this emanates from its traditionally rich oil and gas fields concentrated in the Northeastern part of India and contribute to over 65% of total Oil&Gas produced in the region. The search for newer avenues has seen OIL spreading out its operations in onshore / offshore Orissa and Andaman, deserts of Rajasthan, plains of Uttar Pradesh, riverbeds of Brahmaputra and offshore Saurashtra. In Rajasthan, OIL discovered gas in 1988, heavy oil / bitumen in 1991 and started production of gas in 1996. The Company has accumulated over a hundred years of experience in the field of oil and gas production, since the discovery of Digboi oilfield in 1889. Possibly, the only company to do so. From well completion to wellbore servicing, installation, operation and maintenance of modern surface handling facilities, the company has the skill and expertise to manage the entire range of operations required for onshore oil and gas production.

The Company has over 100,000 square kilometers of license areas for oil and gas exploration. It has emerged as a consistently profitable international company with exploration blocks as far as Libya and sub-Saharan Africa.

In recent years, OIL has stepped up E & P activities significantly including Gas monetization in the North-East India . OIL has set-up the NEF (North East Frontier) project to intensify its exploration activities in the frontier areas in North East, which are logistically very difficult and geologically complex. Presently, seismic surveys are being carried out in Manbhum, Pasighat and other Trust Belt areas. The Company operates a crude oil pipeline in the North East for transportation of crude oil produced by both OIL and ONGCL in the region to feed Numaligarh, Guwahati, Bongaigaon and Barauni refineries and a branch line to feed Digboi refinery.

[edit] Oil India Pipeline History

A 1157 kilometers long fully automated telemetric pipeline with 212 kilometers of looping having a total capacity to transport over 6.0 MMTPA remains the lifeline of the Company. Commissioned in 1962, the double skinned crude oil pipeline traverses 78 river crossings including the mighty Brahmaputra River meandering through paddy fields, forests and swamps. There are 9 pumping stations, 17 Repeater stations and a terminal at Barauni. It remains a symbol of exemplary maintenance work by our personnel. The engines that drive the giant pumps along the pipeline have crossed over two hundred thousand hours of service and established a world record of machine run - hours.

The Company is currently in the process of constructing a 660 KM long Product Pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri. The Pipeline is expected to be completed by mid 2007. OIL also sells its produced gas to different customers in Assam viz. BVFCL, ASEB, NEEPCO, IOC (AOD), and APL and to RSEB in Rajasthan. The company also produces Liquefied Gas (LPG) in its plant at Duliajan, Assam.