Agartala, July 27 (IANS): The state-owned ONGC has stepped up exploration activities in Tripura to unearth more gas to set up a fertilizer plant and to augment power generation, an official said. "Currently total drilling rig strength has been increased to seven and one more rig will be deployed soon to step up the exploration of gas in Tripura," Oil and Natural Gas Corp's Executive Director S.C. Soni told the media here on Wednesday evening. He said: "Until September last year, only three drilling rigs were operational in Tripura. Of the seven rigs, four are owned by ONGC and three are chartered." Soni said the company has targeted to explore five MMSCMD (Million Metric Standard Cubic metre per day) by mid-2018 while the "Maharatna" company has the potential to produce around 4.3-4.5 MMSCMD from 76 wells. "The exploration of additional gas is required to set up a fertilizer plant in north Tripura and to supplement generation of electricity." The ONGC has planned to set up a Rs 5,000 crore fertilizer plant in northern Tripura in association with the state government and Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd, a Rajasthan based company.
