By IANS
Agartala : State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has struck oil and natural gas in the northeastern states of Assam and Tripura, officials said Thursday.
"New oil prospects have been found at Panidihing in Assam with an estimated 516 barrels per day likely to be produced," an ONGC statement said.
Panidihing is about 27 km north of Nazira town, the eastern regional headquarters of the oil and gas major in the state.
"This is a very significant discovery and opens up new prospects for further exploration in other areas of Lakwa, Lakhmani and Rudrasagar, where similar prospects are buried in deeper depths," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the company also struck gas near Kunjaban on the outskirts of Tripura's capital Agartala, saying an estimated 100,000 million cubic metres of natural gas per day is likely to be produced.
"Further testing is in progress and potential of the gas field is being assessed. This discovery would add to the tally of gas fields in Tripura and help in meeting additional gas requirements for the planned 740-MW Tripura Power Project," the statement added.
The ongoing exploration at the Disangmukh-3 well in eastern Assam, which began in December last year, currently yields 1,421 barrels of crude oil per day – the flow rate is considered to be the highest among the discoveries in the northeastern region.