Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited has begun crude oil production from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district. This has made the Bengal basin India’s eighth producing basin, joining the ranks of Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.
A company statement said, “The Asokenagar-1 well was completed as an oil producer under Early-Monetization Plan issued by the Government of India. This makes ONGC having discovered and put to production seven out of the eight producing basins of India covering 83 percent of established oil and gas reserves.”