OREANDA-NEWS. July 25, 2011. AGARTALA: TheOil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is all charged up to take up the new challenge ofuranium mining in Tripura. ONGC Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) A. K. Hazarika told mediapersons that a pilot project is being launched to explore fields for uranium mining in the riverbed of rivers Krishna and Godavari.

"ONGC is looking for uranium in our fields, because we are drilling many wells for oil and gas, while drilling we encounter with minerals called uranium. But we were not having so many interests earlier," said Hazarika.

"Now our energy center, which is created for looking different alternative energy, they are identifying these various logs taken long back earlier which were looking for oil and gas, but that logs are also now showing potential for uranium deposition in many of the places," he added.

Hazarika further said that the ONGC is working towards revamping its ageing infrastructure and technology at the oil fields across the country especially one at Lakwa in Assam. "For oil and gas business, yes, we have taken one project in Assam for repairing and revamping the assets of Assam for improving the surface bottle necking. So, that is called Assam renewal project," said Hazarika.

"That will help us in improving the production as well as repairing, removing the surface bottle necking of our process complexes and pipelines, where we are spending around nearly 2400 crores, so already contracts are going on," he added. ONGC has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with Nuclear Corporation of India as they are looking forward to start a nuclear project in the near future.

Hazarika is presently on a two-day visit to Tripura, during which he would meet Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Minister for Power and Transport Manik Dey with regard to the progress made in the 726 MW gas-based power project at Palatana.