ONGC to invest Rs 40,000 cr in K-G basin in four years

ONGC aims to extract 25 mmscmd of gas in KG basin by 2018

State-owned oil and gas explorer ONGC is making an investment of Rs 40,000 crore in the Krishna-Godavari basin in a phased manner in the next four years.

ONGC chief executive officer and managing director, DK Saraf, informed this to Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu here on Wednesday.

Saraf, according to an official press release, told the chief minister that ONGC aimed to extract 25 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas in the K-G basin by 2018 and will also look into exploration of oil by 2019.

The chief minister asked the ONGC officials to expedite the exploration process and provide substantial number of jobs to local people. The ONGC executives informed the chief minister that they are keen on being partners in the proposed Petro University in the state.  

EIA study of NTPC power plant at Vizag to be completed by May

Environmental impact study of the proposed 4000-Mw power plant in Visakhapatnam district is expected to be completed by May this year, according to NTPC Limited.

The public sector undertaking is in the process of establishing a 4x1,000-Mw imported coal-based thermal power plant in 1,200 acre of land allocated by the Andhra Pradesh government in Atchutapuram and Rambilli mandals with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore.

NTPC stated in a press release here on Wednesday that it had invited tenders for the main plant equipment  and that it was taking up this project on a fast-track mode. The power plant requires 13.7 million tonne of coal a year to achieve 90 per cent plant load factor.

AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation is constructing the boundary wall for the project site, which is expected to be completed soon.

NTPC Simhadri power plant posts 2.4% growth in generation

Despite a fall in PLF (plant load factor) by four per cent due to the Hudhud devastation, the 2,000-Mw NTPC Simhadri power plant has posted a 2.4 per cent growth in power generation during the current financial year, as compared to last year.

“Originally, we had aimed at more than 90 per cent PLF in 2014-15. However, due to the Hudhud cyclone, we achieved only 86 per cent PLF despite the plant producing 15,050 million units in the current fiscal as against 14,684 million units during the preceding year,” said AK Samanta, group general manager, Simhadri power plant.

Due to Hudhud cyclone, the Simhadri station lost about 600 million units of power generation. Shortfall in coal availability is also one of the reasons for the decline in the PLF during this fiscal, he said.