ONGC plans to go for exploration in Tripura

Agartala, May 20: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has announced to go for large-scale exploration work in Tripura with the increasing investment scope in the power sector and medium-scale industries in the state.

ONGC officials said here today that the exploration would commence at Tulamura under Belonia subdivision from the first week of June since the requirement of natural gas had increased because of the upcoming thermal plants at Palatana in South Tripura and Monarchak in West Tripura and expansion of existing plants in Barmura and Rokhia.

The Mumbai-based Allied Regence and Chemicals and another group from Kolkata had also placed an order for natural gas to set up methanol projects in the state, which prompted the ONGC to enhance the exploration plan.

''Taking into consideration the increasing demands which we have agreed to meet, we will need to supply six million cubic metres of gas and we are preparing for it by drilling new wells,'' ONGC Tripura Asset Manager Biplab Guha said.

The ONGC would dig 120 new wells in different parts of the state over the next few years and at least half of them were likely to yield natural gas, he informed.

According to a geo-chemical survey, about 52 billion cubic metres of natural gas could be found underground in the state and following the report, the ONGC had prepared a special programme called 'Vision Mission Six Million' to augment natural gas production.

UNI