The commercial production of gas from ONGC’s Ashoknagar block is expected to begin soon, bringing Bengal on to the energy map of the country, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.
He said “ONGC is moving towards commercial production from its block in Bengal which would put it on the oil map of the country”.
Industry sources said commercial production of the block in the North 24-Parganas district could start before the end of this fiscal and the initial output could be 120 cubic metres.
Speaking at the contract signing ceremony of the fifth bid round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said with the latest bid round, the government has in the last four years awarded 1.56 lakh square kilometres of acreage to find and produce oil and gas.
