North 24 Parganas, 20 September (H.S.): BJP West Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya, during his visit to ONGC’s oil extraction project at Ashoknagar on Sunday, said there should be no political interference in the functioning or management of the project. He said BJP workers, MPs and MLAs would not interfere in operational matters and that the state’s mineral and natural resources should not become a subject of political division.

Bhattacharya also alleged that lack of cooperation from the previous state government had contributed to delays in the project. Speaking about the Petroleum Mining Lease (PML), he claimed that the Union Petroleum Minister had told him that 19 letters had already been sent to the state Chief Minister seeking cooperation.

Official parliamentary records show that ONGC had applied for the PML for the Ashoknagar block in November 2024, while the West Bengal government issued a provisional PML in February 2025 covering 99.06 sq km. Land required for five development wells and associated facilities was subsequently handed over to ONGC.

Bhattacharya’s involvement with the Ashoknagar project predates his current position. He said that while serving as an independent director of Oil India Limited, whose stake in the project is 25%, he had raised the issue at board meetings and also written to Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. He further said that during his tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP, he raised the Ashoknagar issue during various parliamentary sessions, including through Zero Hour and Special Mentions.

Commercial crude oil production at ONGC’s Baigachhi field in Ashoknagar began on August 28, 2026. The first commercial consignment, around 12,000 litres of crude, was transported by tanker to the Haldia refinery. ONGC officials said the field was producing around 20 cubic metres of crude per day, with additional wells planned to increase output.

The company plans to drill additional wells at the field, with reports indicating a target of transporting around 15,000–20,000 litres of crude to Haldia daily as production expands.

Bhattacharya also referred to exploration activities for natural gas at Ranaghat and oil exploration in the Bengal Offshore area. He said the expansion of the Ashoknagar project could have an impact on employment and economic activity in North 24 Parganas.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey