ONGC to invest Rs 40,000 crore in Krishna-Godavari Basin in 4 years

ONGC on Wednesday said it would invest Rs 40,000 crore in Krishna-Godavari Basin in a phased manner over the next four years.

ONGC Chairman and Managing Director D K Sarraf informed this to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here.

Sarraf, who was accompanied by senior company executives, told Naidu that the state-owned oil and gas explorer aims to extract 25 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) gas in KG Basin by 2018 and would also look into the exploration of oil by 2019, Andhra Pradesh government said in a statement.

The Chief Minister asked the ONGC officials to expedite the exploration process and ensure that substantial number of jobs (direct and indirect employment) are provided to locals, it said.

The ONGC executives informed the Chief Minister that they are keen on being partners in Petro University with other stakeholders, proposed in the state.

ONGC would also invest "substantial amount" in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Krishna, East and West Godavari districts in partnership with Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Centre, the statement said.

One of their CSR initiatives includes partnering with deep-water skill development centre in Kakinada, in cooperation with JNTU Kakinada.

Secretary (Energy) Ajay Jain and other officials were present at the meeting.