PURI: Fifteen months after abruptly stopping its work at Kusupur, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has started drilling at Chitra village under Gop block in Puri. Using cranes, rigs, and heavy-duty equipment, the company has started drilling in the village.
In 2020, ONGC had carried out a seismic survey of Mahanadi basin covering nine coastal districts - Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Ganjam, and found deposits of gas and petroleum at two places under Gop block in Puri. The areas were identified in Kusupur and Chitra villages. It acquired eight acre of land in each of the identified villages on a three-year lease basis paying `1.97 crore to landowner in Kusupur and `1 crore to landowner in Chitra village.
Initial drilling operations began at Kusupur on October 20, 2023 but were abruptly halted after 45 days. The corporation then removed all equipment from the site leaving local residents disappointed. Villagers had hoped the project would help generate employment for local youth and aid to economic growth of the area.
Their hopes were revived when ONGC initiated work at the second site. Sirsh Ranjan, the local sarpanch, is positive about the drilling results.
Contacted, ONGC’s public relations officer declined to comment on the project’s current status or provide the officer-in-charge’s contact, stating he was not authorised to do so.