MEIL-made India’s first indigenous hydraulic rig begins operations

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures (MEIL) achieved a milestone by manufacturing rigs for the oil and gas industry with indigenous know-how. The first of the rigs designed with advanced hydraulic technology has begun operations in the KLDDX oil well in the Kalol oil field near Ahmedabad.

MEIL secured an order from ONGC in a tendering process in 2019 to manufacture and supply 47 drilling rigs worth Rs.60 billion. MEIL has now deployed the first of those rigs. The remaining 46 rigs are in various stages of manufacturing. 

Of these, 20 are work-over rigs and 27 are land drilling rigs.

Work-over rigs are used to extract deposits from already drilled oil wells, enhance productivity and repair the well. Ordinary oil rigs do not serve this purpose. The state-of-the-art land drilling rigs drill deep into the layer of earth to existing oil reserves. These rigs can dig to depths between 1,500 m and 6,000 m, as against regular rigs that can dig up to 1,000 m. Twelve of the 20 work-over rigs are automated with a capacity of 50 mt, four are 100 mt capacity, and the remaining four are 150 mt capacity rigs.

Of the 27 land drilling rigs, two are mobile hydraulic rigs with a capacity of 1,500 hp each, while 17 have a capacity each of 1,500 hp AC VFD. The other six rigs are of 2,000 hp capacity each. Two MEIL-designed rigs, with a capacity of 2,000 hp each, can drill up to 6,000 m. This is the first time rigs with that capability have been produced in India.

The 1,500 hp capacity rigs can easily drill oil wells to a depth of 4,000 m. “The rig drills oil wells faster and operates with minimal power, and is manufactured with state-of-the-art hydraulic and automated technology,” P Rajesh Reddy, Vice-President, MEIL. “The rigs can work for the 

next 40 years.”

Of the 46 rigs currently under manufacturing, two rigs are in the assembly stage in the Rajahmundry oil field in Andhra Pradesh. MEIL will supply the rest to ONGC-related oil fields in Assam, Tripura and Tamil Nadu.