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After operationalising the country's first cutting edge technology equipped oil rig, made under the 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at it's Kalol oil field, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will have it's second oil rig operational within twenty days, according to the company.

The ONGC, India's national oil company, five years ago decided to replace its aging fleet with 47 new rigs, including 27 for drilling and 20 for workover.

These rigs will only cover the company for the next couple of years. In the next seven to 10 years, the ONGC plans to add another 65 drilling and more than 60 workover rigs, according to sources.

The ONGC had ordered the replacement of 47 rigs and selected an Indian equipment manufacturer, Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) to provide cutting edge technology based latest oil rigs. The mega oil company has finished the drilling operations by the country's first indigenously-made oil drilling rig at Kalol oil fields in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

"The drilling at the first rig provided by us to the ONGC has found crude at 1735 meters level and we have stopped the drilling. Now, the company will start it's operations of extracting it," said Kumar NK, the head (Oil Rigs division), MEIL at the KLDDH oil well in Dhamasana village, near GGS IV Kalol oil field which comes under the Ahmedabad ONGC unit.

The MEIL started drilling at Kalol on April 7. With a capacity of 1500 HP these drilling rigs can easily dig oil wells up to 4000 m depth. The MEIL has manufactured these rigs to work for a life span of 40 years.

"The second rig, which is also at a nearby site, will be operational within twenty days. Out of the total 27 new set of rigs being supplied to the ONGC, fourteen are in transportation on their way to other sites across India. By March 2022, we are going to deliver 23 rigs to ONGC," added Kumar.

"The two oil rigs at Kalol are part of an order worth Rs 6,000 crore for 47 drilling rigs. As part of the Centre's Make in India programme, MEIL has manufactured these rigs for the first time in the country," added Kumar.

In 2019, the ONGC awarded the Rs 6,000 crore contract to MEIL to manufacture 47 drilling rigs.

ONGC's order of 47 rigs comprises 20 workover rigs and 27 land drilling rigs. The 20 workover rigs include 12 having capacity of 50 MT, four having 100 MT capacity, and another four with 150 MT capacity.