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Pratim Ranjan Bose

Kolkata , March 25

HAVING received the nod from the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to use gas reserves in Tripura for power generation, ONGC is now considering stepping up the capacity of the proposed power plant at Palatana to 1,500 MW.

The company had previously proposed setting up a 750-MW (3x250 MW) gas-based power generation unit in Tripura.

Sources in ONGC said encouraged by abundant gas finds in the State, the company was considering setting up the power plant in two phases of 750 MW each.

ONGC has formed a special purpose vehicle with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services and the Tripura State Power Development Corporation to set up the power project.

ONGC has announced a Rs 400-crore investment plan for stepping up natural gas production capacity in Tripura from 1.7 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) to 4.5 mmscmd by 2007. Apart from drilling four new wells, the investment plan also includes setting up three gas storage stations, revamping existing storage facilities and laying a pipeline connecting the production wells to the power plant.

While the additional production will come from the previously identified reserves, sources said the company had recently identified two more significant natural gas reserves in the State. The combined production capacity would be sufficient to support a 1,500-MW plant, it is felt.

Till now, ONGC has been struggling to keep production at the bare minimum levels due to lack of user industries. At least eight public and private sector companies that had promised investments in the State and were allocated natural gas have left their quota unused for over five years, leaving ONGC with no option but to flare a part of the production.

Oil find in West Bengal: ONGC is becoming increasingly hopeful of gas finds in West Bengal. Recently, the company hit a weathered oil find at Ichhapore in North 24 Parganas district, which has raised hopes of identifying gas reserves onshore.

The company, however, is extremely hopeful of finding gas off-shore. Having initiated exploratory drilling in offshore Bengal early this week, ONGC will start exploration in two more shallow water off-shore blocks in the Mahanadi basin next year.

Sources said the company had received some early indication of oil in its

ongoing Sagar Samridhhi project on the west coast. More success is expected in the KG basin, where ONGC has announced two gas reserve finds.

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