JAISALMER: Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions involving countries such as the United States and Iran in the Gulf region, India’s leading public sector oil company, Oil India Limited (OIL), has achieved a significant milestone in the extraction of heavy crude oil from the Jodhpur Sandstone formation in the Thar Desert of Jaisalmer. The company has recorded its highest-ever crude oil production of 1,202 barrels per day from this field.The crude oil is being transported by tankers to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) facilities in Mehsana, from where it is further sent through pipelines to the Koyali refinery operated by Indian Oil Corporation.This output is about 70% higher than last year’s production of 705 barrels per day. By the end of the financial year, OIL’s annual crude oil production from the Thar Desert in Jaisalmer reached 43,773 metric tonnes, up from 32,787 metric tonnes in the previous year.The achievement reflects the company’s focus on enhanced recovery techniques, efficient drilling and modernisation. It is also expected to play a crucial role in advancing India’s energy self-reliance.According to official sources in Rajasthan, the Rajasthan Field (OIL-RF) has emerged as a strong example of resilience, innovation and strategic expansion during FY 2025–26. Operating in the harsh and arid conditions of western Rajasthan, the company has strengthened its commitment to energy security, technological advancement and sustainable development.In the domain of heavy crude oil extraction, the use of advanced technology for the first time in this region has led to a major breakthrough. OIL has successfully implemented Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS) technology to extract heavy oil from the Jodhpur Sandstone, considered the oldest sedimentary rock formation in Rajasthan. The successful execution of this technology nearly 30 years after its discovery is being seen as a major milestone.Officials said the Baghewala oil field is among the few onshore heavy crude oil-producing fields in India, located in the south-western part of the Bikaner-Nagaur sub-basin of the Rajasthan Basin. CSS technology has been implemented in 19 wells, 72% higher than last year.Despite challenging geological conditions, 13 new wells have been drilled, a 44% increase from nine wells in the previous year. Advanced techniques such as fishbone drilling and barefoot completion — being used for the first time in India’s heavy oil reservoirs — have also been adopted.Officials explained that CSS technology is used to extract high-viscosity crude oil. In FY 2025–26, OIL achieved its highest-ever production of 1,202 barrels per day from this field.To enhance production capacity, OIL has deployed several modern technologies, including electric downhole heaters, mobile boilers for CSS, hydraulic sucker rod pumps (HSRP), high-temperature thermal wellheads and vacuum insulated tubings (VITs) for thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Additionally, downhole heating cable technology is being tested and has shown promising initial results.Officials said OIL has been producing heavy oil from the Baghewala field since 2017. Discovered in 1991, the field covers an area of 200.26 sq km. At present, there are 52 wells, of which 33 are producing. Due to the high viscosity of oil in the region, conventional extraction methods were not feasible.In November 2018, OIL successfully conducted a pilot test of CSS technology in the BGW-08 well, marking its first implementation in India and setting new benchmarks in thermal enhanced oil recovery.Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a post that India continues to strengthen its energy infrastructure and pursue initiatives towards energy self-reliance under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He congratulated Oil India Limited for achieving its highest-ever daily oil and gas production.
