Active Stocks
Mon Mar 18 2024 15:55:53
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 149.60 5.69%
  1. Tata Motors share price
  2. 972.20 2.75%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 417.40 -0.51%
  1. State Bank Of India share price
  2. 730.70 -0.18%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,082.00 0.32%
Business News/ Industry / Energy/  ONGC to roll out new ‘basin’ in Agartala by 2017
BackBack

ONGC to roll out new ‘basin’ in Agartala by 2017

ONGC director (Onshore) Mahawar said the new 'basin' is being created to focus more on exploration of energy sources in the area.

In last fiscal, ONGC production in Assam was 0.9 million tonnes. Photo: ReutersPremium
In last fiscal, ONGC production in Assam was 0.9 million tonnes. Photo: Reuters

Guwahati: State-run energy behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will set up a new ‘basin’ in Agartala by the end of next year as it looks to focus more on exploration of oil and gas in the North-East region. “We are discussing about setting up a ‘basin’ in Agartala. Director of exploration and I visited Agartala around five months ago. We checked the facilities. Currently work for creation of workstation is going on," ONGC director (Onshore) Ved Prakash Mahawar said.

Construction work is going on as earlier there was no proper building to start functioning of a ‘basin’ in Agartala, he added. “A ‘basin’ receives huge amount of data, which are processed subsequently. It will take around a year to prepare the facility. By 2017, we will roll out the Agartala Basin," Mahawar said. ONGC’s North East operations are divided into two areas—Assam Shelf from Jorhat to Duliajan and Assam Fold Belt from Silchar to Agartala. While exploration is being done only by Assam-Arakan ‘basin’ based at Jorhat, the production is divided by three ‘assets’— Assam Asset at Nazira, Jorhat Asset at Jorhat and Tripura Asset at Agartala.

Also Read: ONGC to begin operations at Ratna, R-series oilfield in 2019

Basin’s job is to discover or explore oil and gas, but it does not produce anything. On the other hand, an ‘asset’ exploits or produces and sends products to refineries. Explaining the rationale behind creating a new ‘basin’, the senior official said: “The Assam Fold Belt is a complex and a complicated one. Sometimes we get minerals and other things. We want an experienced person there who knows about it. This will bring in focus to that area. As it is a difficult area, so we want to treat it differently." Assam Fold Belt has mainly gas, while there are both oil and gas in Assam Shelf, he added.

Mahawar said the new ‘basin’ is being created to focus more on exploration of energy sources in the area. When asked about the manpower in the upcoming Agartala ‘basin’, he said: “In a basin, mostly scientists are there. In Jorhat ‘basin’, 300 people are there. So usually, around 200- 300 people are there in a ‘basin’. But Agartala will house 50 -60 people only as finance, HR and few other departments in Jorhat will be shared with it."

Before creating an ‘asset’ in Jorhat, it was only a ‘basin’ with a daily production of 350 tonnes. “Now we have made an ‘asset’ in Jorhat to focus on the production. An executive director sits there. As soon as it was made an ‘asset’, production has gone up to 400 tons every day. This will increase to 500 tonnes per day next year," Mahawar said. In last fiscal, ONGC production in Assam was 0.9 million tonnes and this year, it is targetted to reach the figure of one million tonnes.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 11 Dec 2016, 02:07 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Energy Stocks
₹1,901.8-1.67%
₹161.15-0.22%
₹497.6-0.52%
₹82.97-0.52%
₹3160.36%
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App