India’s oil & gas output has been stagnant for years, forcing the country to increase its reliance on imports to meetrising fuel demand. But the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) now has reason to cheer; it has found a reserve in West Bengal and has begun production. The Ashoknagar Oilfield, located 50km from Kolkata, was discovered in 2018 by ONGC – the first oil field in West Bengal to date. ONGC had extracted a sample of 20 kl of crude oil from the oilfield in early November and sent it to Indian Oil’s Haldia Refinery for processing and the tests revealeda high-grade product. The Ashoknagar field falls under the Mahanadi-Bengal-Andaman basin. West Bengal has always been a promising location for oil & gas. ONGC has been exploring the state for decades and invested substantially in the endeavour; but commercial viability of the sample was always an issue. The corporationhas now taken a major step, by commencing oil production from the well at Ashoknagar I, Bengal Basin, district 24 Parganas. Ashoknagar Iisnow counted as an oil producer under the Early-Monetisation Plan issued by the government of India. This means that ONGC has discovered and put into production seven out of its eight basins in India, covering 83 per cent of the established oil & gas reserves. The corporation is India’s largest oil & gas producer, contributing 72 per cent of the country’s hydrocarbon production. “The discovery will play a major role in India’s energy security and will reduce its dependence on oil imports,” remarked Dharmendra Pradhan, minister for petroleum & natural gas and steel,who dedicated the Ashoknagar Oilfield discovery to the nation by switching on the sucker rod pump that lifts oil from the well. Pradhan congratulated ONGC for its seven decades of relentless effort, which has now borne fruit, giving hope for more robust development of the state. The Bengal Basin has, at last, become qualified to be on the oil and gas map of the world, he added. New phase of prosperity “The government is committed to fully support ONGC,” assured the minister.“This is a turning point in its efforts to bring more oil and gas from the sub-surface of West Bengal and help bring in a new phase of prosperity, alongwith employment opportunities for the state and its people. This is a moment of national pride– such a gift coming from the soil of West Bengal to India.” The commencement of commercial production is expected soon, now thatthe election for the state assembly is around the corner. Politically, Bengal is now a priority for the Modi government. The minister evaded questions on the extent of the reserve and the commercial viability of the Ashoknagar project.
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To date, ONGC has invested Rs3,361crore to explore hydrocarbon in the Bengal Basin
