NEW DELHI - India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas said Thursday that it had struck oil and gas in three domestic locations, including one close to the main domestic source off the western coast.
The company said in a statement that it struck oil nearly 60 kilometres (38 miles) from the western Indian Bombay High offshore oil and gas field, which remains the largest domestic oil source despite dwindling reserves.
It said the new field could yield 490,376 cubic meters of gas and 2,491 barrels of crude oil a day but did not provide estimates of the total find.
"This find has opened up a new exploration opportunity in sands within the Panna Formation off Bombay High field. The oil and gas are of high quality," the statement said.
The company made two more gas strikes on the eastern coast in the Krishna-Godavari basin in southern India.
It said yield of 326,545 cubic meters of gas a day was estimated from one of the wells, while no estimate was given for the other.
Oil and Natural Gas, India's largest company by market capitalization, is the sole operator in all three fields were the discoveries were made.
India, which imports more than 70 percent of its oil needs from overseas, has been scouring for oil at home and abroad to meet the fuel demands of its burgeoning economy.
It has offered several prospective oil and gas blocks to foreign and domestic private firms for exploration in the hope of boosting the domestic production.
05/05/2005 14:21 GMT