Archive · 29 Aug 2026
Commercial crude production resumes at ONGC’s Baigachhi field
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has started producing oil again at a field in Ashoknagar.
The field is called Baigachhi and is in North 24-Parganas.
The first tanker carried oil to the Haldia refinery on Friday.
Workers found the oil in a new well about 2,396 metres underground.
ONGC says this oil is better quality than the oil found earlier.
The company hopes to produce 15,000–20,000 litres each day.
It plans to drill four or five more wells to increase production.
The project had been delayed by equipment problems, the Covid-19 pandemic and difficulties obtaining land.
ONGC is studying whether the area can become an important source of oil and gas for Bengal and India.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation resumed commercial crude production at the Baigachhi field in Ashoknagar, North 24-Parganas.
The first tanker of crude was dispatched to the Haldia refinery on Friday.
ONGC is targeting daily production of 15,000–20,000 litres and plans four or five additional wells.
The new well found commercially viable crude at a depth of about 2,396 metres, with an estimated API gravity of 40–41.
The project has faced technical, pandemic and land-related delays after oil was first discovered in Ashoknagar in 2018.
- Who
- The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, led at the launch by director of exploration O.P. Sinha, resumed production; Ashoknagar BJP MLA Dr Sumay Hira flagged off the tanker with Sinha.
- What
- Commercial crude oil production restarted at the Baigachhi field, with the first consignment sent to a refinery.
- When
- Production resumed and the first consignment was dispatched on Friday; oil was first discovered in Ashoknagar in 2018.
- Where
- The Baigachhi field in Ashoknagar, North 24-Parganas, West Bengal; the crude was sent to the Haldia refinery.
- Why
- Production restarted after technical and land-related delays, while ONGC seeks to raise domestic oil and gas output and reduce import dependence.
- Target output
- 15,000–20,000 litres of crude oil per day
- New well depth
- Approximately 2,396 metres
- Crude quality
- Estimated API gravity of 40–41, comparable to crude from Bombay High
- Project investment
- Around ₹1,000 crore
- Wells drilled
- Six in Ashoknagar: four for oil and two for natural gas
- Expansion plan
- Drill at least four or five additional wells
- First discovery
- Oil and gas were first discovered in Ashoknagar in 2018