Production at Ashoknagar oil field project in West Bengal to begin soon, says petroleum minister

New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that the production at the Ashoknagar Oil Field project in West Bengal would start soon, with both ONGC and the state government making efforts to finalise the lease deed.

With the Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules, 2025 (PNG Rules) being notified recently, the minister hoped that the issues related to stamp duty on lease as well as royalty would be "resolved".

Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the minister said, "So far as the Ashoknagar project is concerned... the production sharing contract was signed for exploration block WB-ONN-2005/4 between ONGC and OIL during NELP round 7. This was done in 2008, and ONGC was the contractor for this block".

This block is located in the North 24 Pargana district, and the discovery was made in 2018, he added.

ONGC has already spent Rs 1,000 crore so far in this project, the minister said.

"It is our estimate that the Bengal basin contains a total of 240 million barrels of oil equivalents in place proven reserve. If you go by these figures at 30 per cent recovery, the cumulative production value can be around Rs 45,000 crore, and out of which the state of Bengal would get Rs 4500 crore," Puri said.

ONGC had submitted a Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) request to the West Bengal government in November 2024 with regard to the On-land Block WB-ONN-2005/4 (Ashoknagar).

The state government issued a provisional PML to ONGC in February 2025 for an area of 99.06 square km.

"The exchange of letters between ONGC and West Bengal government has only taken place in December 10 and 12. My reading is based on where we have reached so far that in the light of the latest legislation which we have...I do not see any problem," the minister said.

Stamp duty has to be paid on the duration of the entire lease, Puri said, adding that the stamp duty on royalty would be paid as and when it is received.

Stating that he is not a soothsayer and doesn't like to anticipate, the minister hoped that things would be resolved, considering the progress made so far.

"2008, we had a production sharing agreement. 2018, we moved forward on PML. Now we have everything in place. Maybe another few weeks, and hopefully we can say that this is something that we have achieved and that production will go on," Puri said.

The minister also emphasised that states, when they cooperate with exploration and production activities, get revenue. He listed out the revenue number that different states are getting.

"So I am reasonably confident. Based on the latest law, this business about stamp duty on lease rent and stamp duty on the royalty, which will be payable as and when the extraction takes place and the royalty as a fixed amount accrues to the state government, this will be resolved," Puri said.

The minister said the deal is going to be finalised based on the exchange of letters on December 10 and 12 between ONGC and the West Bengal government.

In the written reply, Puri said, "After receiving provisional PML, the necessary documents for signing of Lease Deed have been submitted to the Government of West Bengal in May 2025. The approval of Lease Deed is still awaited from the State Government." Only upon signing of the lease deed, he said, the production from the block can be commenced, and then the production can be eventually ramped up.

On December 10, 2025, the West Bengal government issued a letter to ONGC regarding computation of stamp duty basis the lease rent or the annual royalty, whichever is higher.

The minister informed that ONGC has submitted their reply to the state government on December 12, seeking the levy of stamp duty in accordance with the provisions under recently notified PNG Rules, wherein the rent is to be paid for the entire term of the lease, and that the rent is the consideration for the petroleum lease.

"Sub-rule 4 under Rule 6 of the PNG Rules provides that the value of the lease shall be the total lease rent payable for its term. In addition to the rent fixed under the PNG Rules, royalty shall, in any case, accrue to the state in on-land blocks on the basis of production from the block," Puri said. PTI MJH HVA