ONGC Launches Commercial Crude Production at Ashoknagar Field

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has started commercial crude production at its Ashoknagar field in North 24 Parganas, near Kolkata. The first consignment of around 1,200 litres of crude was transported to the Haldia refinery on Friday after a brief ceremony attended by ONGC officials, including director (exploration) Om Prakash Sinha.

The Ashoknagar field produces approximately 20 cubic metres of crude per day, which is mixed with water and then processed through separators and an effluent treatment plant before being transported to the refinery. Currently, two wells are operational, but ONGC plans to drill another five or six wells and aims to transport around 20,000 litres of crude to the Haldia refinery every day.

The start of commercial production at Ashoknagar follows years of exploration and overcoming operational hurdles, including land-related complications, technical problems, and the pandemic. In 2018, oil and gas deposits were first discovered at Baigachhi, and in 2020, experimental extraction yielded around 375 barrels of crude oil with a quality comparable to that of the Mumbai High offshore field.