Thaindian News

Agartala, Jan 6 (IANS) India’s premier hydrocarbons exploration company, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has undertaken a Rs.43.76-billion project in Tripura to boost gas output, the company said here Tuesday.”The investment proposal has been approved to produce and supply six million cubic metres gas per day from the state’s gasfields,” ONGC executive director Biplab Guha told reporters.

“The Mission Six Million (MSM) Project is to be implemented in three phases and Rs.19.46 billion has already been sanctioned for the first phase, which will be completed by 2012,” said. Since 1975, ONGC has drilled 134 wells in Tripura; of these, 68 yield gas.

ONGC supplies 1.5 million cubic metres to four power projects in the state daily for generation of 160 MW electricity, besides catering to city gas projects to meet domestic needs of 7,000 families, brick kilns and industrial growth centres.

“Out of 14 ONGC assets across the country, Tripura topped the list in gas production, gas flaring, cutting cost and the number of wells drilled against agreed and approved targets,” Guha said.

ONGC has recently discovered two gas yielding zones in western Tripura and drilling has already commenced.

“A huge deposit of hydrocarbon has been found in both the new locations and this discovery would help in meeting additional gas requirements for the commissioning of the 726 mw capacity mega power project in south Tripura,” Guha added.

The official also said the annual contribution to the state’s exchequer from the Tripura asset is going to increase to Rs.1 billion by 2011-12.