ONGC's exploration mission begins in northeast: Official

State-owned ONGC has began exploration works in northeast India to attract more gas based industries in the region, top official said.

"ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) has vigorously embarked on exploration works to explore more natural gas," ONGC Director (Onshore) V.P. Mahawar told reporters here on Saturday night.

He said :"The ONGC has targeted to drill 31 wells in this fiscal in different parts of Assam, but the company by the end of outgoing financial year (2016-17), would drill 33 wells."

The official said that the ONGC as part of the government`s "Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North-East India" working more energetically to discover gas and oil in new areas of the resource-rich region.

The initiative launched last year, aims at double oil and gas production by 2030, making clean fuel accessible, fast tracking projects, generating employment opportunities and promoting cooperation with neighbouring countries. 

Mahawar said exploration in Nagaland, which has been halted due to some "loyalty and land related" issues. However, talks are on to solves the disputes.

In Arunachal Pradesh, however, the progress has not been encouraging. Though gas reserves are available in the state, more exploration activities are required to be undertaken, Mahawar said. In Tripura, the ONGC has already drilled 220 wells.

"The ONGC has established 40-45 billion cubic metre (BCM) gas reserves in Tripura and 13 BCM has been producing now," he added.

"With the addition of new rigs, the number of wells drilled in the state has gone up from 10-12 wells in 2015-16 to 15 wells in 2016-17. It plans to drill 22 wells per year in the next three years," Mahawar added.