Even before the festive cheer and joyous optimism of a Bengali New Year is upon the state, ONGC Tripura asset has already given the state an abundant ‘Borsho Boron’ gift as it has recorded the highest ever annual gas production at 1675 Million Standard Cubic Metres (MMSCM) for FY’2022-23. Prior to this, the maximum amount of natural gas produced by ONGC in the state was during FY’2020-21, when the company registered a gas output of 1634 MMSCM.

Coming just before Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha voicing confidence about Tripura’s business environment and urging industrialists to commit investments in the region during the G20 Summit held in Agartala, record production by ONGC must provide another boost to the state’s economic credentials as a strong future business destination.

Speaking on the achievement of this significant operational milestone, Executive Director and Asset Manager of Tripura asset Tarun Malik said this feat is a fitting testament to the unwavering commitment and industry of all the ONGC ‘Energy Soldiers’ working for energy security of the Nation and, more specifically, the growth and prosperity of Tripura. He also emphasized on the importance of teamwork in accomplishing this major milestone – “Oil and Gas exploration is a risky business, where the outputs do not always tally with the inputs and there are so many moving parts and involvement of technology at every step of the way… right from how we scout for energy resources underground to how we extract them, process them and transport them to our customers while adhering to the highest standards of safety. So, I am happy that we have managed to pull it off despite the inherent challenges of the industry”.

He also acknowledged the invaluable support that ONGC has received from the state administration over the years which has been vital to maintaining the operations without any major disruptions to gas supplies notwithstanding adverse circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. “The government has always made time for ONGC whenever we needed that and, over the years, we have developed a strong working relationship that benefits the state as a whole”, he stated. Looking ahead, he is assured of not just ONGC’s continuous business growth in Tripura, but also about how the region itself would become a hallmark of sustainable development in the entire country.

To achieve record production and also to sustain a high level of output in the coming days, a lot of operational initiatives were set in motion in the past couple of years such as installation of plunger lifts, mobile separators and regular activation of low-pressure wells, said Malik. Besides, in order to overcome 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.

Moreover, the asset also held regular interactions with its gas customers – OTPC, TSECL, GAIL, TNGCL – as well as regulatory agencies in order to plan power plants’ maintenance shutdowns more effectively. This has contributed to a significant reduction in consumer shutdown loss from 201 MMSCM in FY 2021-22 to 92 MMSCM in FY 2022-23, said Malik.

It may be recalled here that, despite the remoteness of the fields and high decline rates, ONGC Tripura asset has registered a 3 percent CAGR 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. As Malik would say – ‘eventually, I reckon, it is our love for Tripura and the love we continue to receive in return from everyone that keeps us going and helps us overcome difficulties… this relationship of 61 years  is only going to get stronger hereon’. ONGC has been in Tripura since 1962.