Kolkata: The West Bengal government has granted all relevant clearance to ONGC to commence large-scale oil drilling in the Ashoknagar area of North 24 Parganas district.
Mineral oil was discovered in the area with multiple reserves identified around Baigachhi in the same district. Currently, land leasing and drilling preparations are being completed at four sites across the district.
In total, ONGC has identified 13 sites for drilling in North 24 Parganas, three in South 24 Parganas, one in Nadia and five across Purba and Paschim Midnapore.
The selection process for these sites has been completed and consequently, land acquisition commenced in Chapatla gram panchayat in Deganga in North 24 Parganas and Bhagwanpur II block of Purba Midnapore.
Each project requires approximately five acres of leased land. Accordingly, in December 2020 ONGC commenced commercial oil and gas extraction in the region.
However, the project came to a standstill subsequently with the state government holding the nod to proceed with the extraction.
Now the state government has nodded to the extraction and has leased out the land to ONGC for Rs 1 as a positive gesture.
The full extraction though will begin only after thorough assessments of the oil & gas reserves at depths ranging from 2500 to 6000 meters. It has the potential to produce 45,000-50,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day.
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