ONGC makes 4 oil discoveries in West Bengal's Ashokenagar: What's delaying petroleum mining?

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has made four more oil discoveries in the Ashoknagar area of West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district but is awaiting the grant of a Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) from the state government to commence production, Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply, Puri said the discoveries were part of ONGC's sustained exploration efforts in the Bengal sedimentary basin over five decades.

The first discovery, Asokenagar-1, was notified in September 2018, prompting ONGC to apply for a PML over 5.88 square kilometres for its early monetisation under an Early Development Plan (EDP). Despite receiving the central government's recommendation in October 2020, the state government has not yet issued the lease, Puri said.

“As the PML was awaited from State Government, EDP could not be implemented thereby affecting production of oil and gas,” the minister said.

However, ONGC continued appraisal/exploratory drilling activities and established presence of hydrocarbon in other wells namely Asokenagar-2, Kankpul-1, Bhurkunda-1 and Ranaghat-2, thus, enhancing the hydrocarbon prospectivity around Asokenagar-1 discovery in New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) Block WB-ONN-2005/4.

Based on the latest data, an integrated Field Development Plan (FDP) covering 99.06 sq. km, including the EDP area, has been approved by the Centre. ONGC has submitted a revised PML application for the larger area in November 2024, but approval is still pending from the West Bengal government, Puri added.

The delay has raised concerns over missed economic opportunities, including job creation and local development.

Puri said the Centre and ONGC have been consistently pursuing for the lease approval, with follow-ups through letters and discussions at the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in July 2024.

"The matter has been flagged to the Government of West Bengal (GoWB) in the Eastern Zonal Council meeting held on 04.07.2024 at Ranchi for expediting consideration of GoWB," Puri said.

The Ashoknagar oil field is part of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) Block WB-ONN-2005/4, which holds significant hydrocarbon potential.