Guwahati, April 10: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has decided to resume drilling operations in Nagaland after a 13-year hiatus and make its debut in another northeastern state, Mizoram.

The oil and gas behemoth has also drawn up plans to revamp its ageing facilities in Assam and hire two foreign consultancy firms for technical support. The larger goal is to increase the company’s crude output from 1.33 to 1.9 metric tonnes by the end of Eleventh Plan.

R.S. Sharma, who took over from Subir Raha as chairman and managing director of the ONGC in May last year, told The Telegraph that the company’s biggest challenge at the moment was to resume operations at Champang in Wokha district of Nagaland.

The Nagaland government barred drilling operations in Champang on May 2, 1994, in the wake of objections by the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and some other organisations, including the Naga Students’ Federation.

The ONGC has now struck a deal with the Nagaland government, making it a stakeholder in oil and gas exploration. Sharma declined to give details of the agreement.

Apart from resuming work in Nagaland, the company is aiming to start deep drilling in Mizoram. Sharma said the plan was based on extensive feasibility studies. “Optimism is the philosophy of our business and it is with this philosophy that we are venturing into Mizoram,” he added.

Assam is in the scheme of things, too. The ONGC has drawn up a “renewal package” that entails investing nearly Rs 2,500 crore in revamping its ageing facilities in the state and going for technology induction with an estimated additional expenditure of around Rs 2,000 crore.

There will be comprehensive replacement, revamp and expansion of equipment and other infrastructure. Advanced process control and communications systems will be implemented along with better health, safety and environment management.

Sharma called on chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday to apprise him of the ONGC’s plans for Assam and seek better security arrangements.

The chairman and managing director was assured of the services of a security battalion comprising local youth. He reciprocated by offering two vans equipped with cancer-detection equipment. The special vehicles are worth Rs 70 lakh.

A.K. Hazarika, director (onshore) of the ONGC, B.C. Nayak, executive director (security), and B.M. Singh, executive director (asset manager, Assam), accompanied Sharma to the meeting with the chief minister.