Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the state-run oil exploration firm, has started drilling operations in the Kerala-Konkan basin, and is expecting tangible results within next 100 days.

The area is located 70 nautical miles from the Cochin coast, and there is a big probability of huge gas and oil reservoirs in the fields, according to Mr. R.S. Sharma - Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC - who inaugurated the drilling operations for the oil exploration activities.

Mr. Sharma said that ONGC will carry out exploration activities to a depth of 6,500 meters. The company has been undertaking exploration activities in the fields of the Kerala-Konkan offshore since 1977, getting some traces of hydrocarbon in the region.

The oil exploration firm also carried out shallow water explorations, with two under water wells already being drilled in the water regions. However, the company did not get encouraging results in the shallow water exploration.

Mr D.K. Pande, Director (Exploration) of ONGC said that ONGC will carry out the drilling operations to a depth of 2,080 meters in the first phase; and it has also identified more regions having a probability of gas and crude oil. But work on second stage will be carried out only after getting notable results from the ongoing phase 1 of the exploration.