The ONGC Tripura Asset has recorded the highest-ever annual gas production at 1,675 Million Standard Cubic Metres (MMSCM) in the northeastern state for 2022-23 FY shattering all its previous records, a senior official said on Friday.

ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) is a state-owned oil and gas corporation in India with its headquarters in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. 

It is the greatest oil and gas exploration and production enterprise in India and one of the largest in the globe. Founded in 1956, ONGC is responsible for most of India’s crude oil production and natural gas supply.  The company operates in more than 20 countries and has a diversified portfolio that includes exploration and production, refining, and marketing of oil and gas products. ONGC is committed to sustainable development and has implemented various initiatives to reduce its environmental impact and promote social welfare.

Before this, the maximum quantity of natural gas produced by ONGC in the northeastern state was during the 2020-21 FY, when the company registered a gas output of 1,634 MMSCM.

Oil and gas exploration is a hazardous industry, where the outputs do not always correspond with the inputs and there are so many moving components and involvement of technology at every stage of the way. We are pleased that the ONGC Tripura Asset has managed to carry it off despite inherent challenges“, the official said.

He said to accomplish record production and also to sustain a high level of output in the coming days, several operational initiatives were set in motion in the past couple of years such as the installation of plunger lifts, mobile separators, and regular activation of low-pressure wells.

Besides, to surmount the logistical and geological challenges of the region ONGC has also recently commissioned Aerial Hydrocarbon Survey to map the more remote locations and Advanced Hi-tech Drilling Rigs to drill deeper and more accurate wells in difficult terrain“, he said.

At present, five to six platforms are operational for search gas while out of three hi-tech rigs, one has already been commissioned and two will be brought into service shortly.

Despite the remoteness of the fields and steep decline rates, ONGC Tripura Asset has registered a 3 percent production growth in the last 6 years. Not just that, the Asset has breached the 5 MMSCMD mark – a coveted operational benchmark for many years – 49 times in FY’2022-23.

The ONGC Tripura Asset also held regular interactions with its gas customers – OTPC, TSECL, GAIL, TNGCL – as well as regulatory agencies to plan power plants’ maintenance shutdowns more effectively. This has contributed to a significant reduction in consumer closure loss from 201 MMSCM in FY 2021-22 to 92 MMSCM in FY 2022-23.

He assured not just ONGC’s continuous business growth in the state, but also how the region itself would become a hallmark of sustainable development in the entire country.

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