ONGC ramps up gas production in Tripura to meet power plant demand

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has intensified operations to increase gas production in Tripura to supply power generation plants in the state, an official said on Monday. 

This decision follows reports of reduced gas supply to various power plants. ONGC produced 1,527 million standard cubic metres (MMSCM) of gas in Tripura in the 2023-24 fiscal and aims to extract 1,675 MMSCM in 2024-25. 

'ONGC is working to ensure sufficient gas supply to power plants in Tripura. We have set a target of extracting 1,675 MMSCM of gas this fiscal year while production was 1,527 MMSCM last year,' said Krishna Kumar, ONGC's Tripura Asset Manager.

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ONGC plans to dig 20 new wells for gas exploration in 2024-25 and will add one more rig soon. Currently, six rigs are being used. Besides new exploration, ONGC has started cluster drilling to extract gas from old well sites, which already have facilities and approval. 

'Due to rapid urbanisation in Tripura, ONGC is focusing on cluster drilling using old wells to avoid the need for fresh approval or land acquisition,' Kumar said. 

He also mentioned that surplus gas supply becomes a problem if a unit of the Palatana power plant shuts down, as other plants cannot absorb the extra gas, causing losses to ONGC. Various state-run agencies operate the gas-based power plants in Tripura.