ONGC, Belgian Talboom plan pilot geothermal plant in India's Gujarat - report

Aug 22, 2012 - India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (BOM:500312), or ONGC, and Belgian diversified engineering group Talboom are to build a pilot 3 MW-5 MW geothermal plant in the South Cambay basin of India's Gujarat state, The Press Trust of India (PTI) said, citing an ONGC official.

Talboom's geothermal energy arm and the ONGC Energy Centre plan to form a 50/50 joint venture to develop the project, the unnamed official told the news agency.

The pilot facility is to be completed by 2013-2014. At present, ONGC is in the stakeholder consultation phase, the official added.

As part of the plan, Talboom will provide technical expertise. ONGC has already dug out 4,000 wells with temperature levels of 150-170 degree centigrade in South Cambay and is still trying to reach zones with higher temperatures. According to the Indian company's preliminary calculations, the basin has a geothermal energy potential of few hundred megawatts, PTI said.

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