Mumbai: Essar Oilfields Services India Limited (EOSIL) Wednesday announced that it has been awarded a one-year, Rs 32-crore contract by ONGC to drill 30 wells at the latter’s coal bed methane (CBM) block in Bokaro, Jharkhand. The Company will be deploying the MR#11 land rig for the job, which is expected to commence in the next few weeks, said a company spokesperson. 

EOSIL CEO  Rajeev Nayyer said: “We are proud to have been awarded this drilling contract for the Bokaro block, which is being widely regarded as India’s biggest CBM project. It demonstrates the depth of our expertise in contract drilling and will help us secure more such prestigious projects. With increased activity in India’s oil & gas exploration sector, our state-of-the-art rigs are well equipped to help boost domestic crude production, thus ensuring the country’s energy security.”

EOSIL, which is close to posting a revenue of Rs 300 crore in the current fiscal, has three of its land rigs currently in operation. These rigs have been contracted with Oil India and Mercator Petroleum. Its offshore semi-submersible rig, the Essar Wildcat, is also deployed on a three-year Rs 850-crore contract with ONGC since May 2017, making this the Company’s second drilling contract with the state-owned oil & gas exploration and production major.

EOSIL is expecting to increase its revenues by a further 20% in FY 2018-19 because of better deployment of assets. Eight of its rigs are likely to be in operation for a range of clients in the upcoming financial year.