Dhanbad: Five alumni of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad were part of the multidisciplinary ONGC team which struck a natural gas reserve in the deepwater Mahanadi offshore basin off the Odisha coast.The PSU announced its find on Sept 18 at MN-DW18-1-H-D well, the first it drilled in the basin under the Centre’s Samudra Manthan initiative. Around 43km off Konark, the well, which was drilled to 1,623 meters, showed encouraging gas flow and sustained reservoir pressure in the initial tests.Asif MV, Kumar Ankit, Anil Kumar Badhai, Bibekananda Barik and Ankit Chaudhary, were part of the team and contributed to drilling, geological operations and production-related work.“This achievement is a matter of pride for IIT (ISM) and reflects the strong technical foundation of our alumni and their contribution to India’s energy sector,” IIT (ISM) Director Sukumar Mishra said.While Asit and Ankit as senior executives (drilling), Badhai and Barik are senior geologists with the PSU. Chaudhary is an assistant executive engineer (production). The Rs 84,000-crore Samudra Manthan initiative aims to reduce exploration risks and drilling costs, while the alumni’s role underlines IIT (ISM)’s legacy in petroleum and geoscience since 1957.
