ONGC Finds Gas in Northeast India

By Saurabh Chaturvedi

New Delhi, Mar 14 : State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Monday said it has made a "significant" gas discovery in India's northeastern state of Tripura.

The discovery has given impetus for more such exploration in the area, India's largest oil producer by volume said.

ONGC Chairman and Managing Director A. K. Hazarika said that the discovery will help it meet the target of 5.5 million cubic meters per day of gas production for fueling the ONGC Tripura Power Gas Company project.

In January, the Indian cabinet approved a plan to set up a 100 megawatt gas-based power project in Tripura, and it sanctioned 6.02 billion rupees ($134 million) for the project, which is expected to be commissioned by July 2013.

ONGC said on Feb. 21 that independent audits estimated its proven reserves, including local and overseas fields, at 942.86 million metric tons of oil and oil-equivalent gas as of Oct. 1, 2010.