THE Canada-based consortium of Camaro and Centurion oil companies, which recently won the bid for oil exploration in Nagaland, has agreed to pay ten per cent profits to the state government as demanded by the latter. “The two Canadian companies along with the Delhi-based Assam Company Ltd, which won the bid for oil exploration in the Tuli area of the Mokukchung district, have agreed to pay ten per cent interest to the state government,’’ according to officials in the Nagaland Government.

“Further negotiations are on and exploration will begin once they are granted the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP),’’ the officials informed. Nagaland can seek 22 per cent royalty from the companies for oil exploration, two per cent more   than the other states which has oil deposits. Dispelling fear of insurgency, the officials said Nagaland today is one of the most peaceful states in the region and the state government was committed to provide security to the investors. “The state government is facilitating the ongoing Naga peace process and committed to all-round development of the state by ensuring peace.’’

The total oil potential in Nagaland extends over 6,000 sq km with    600 million tonnes inferred   reserves of petroleum and naturalgas. The state’s proven reserves stand at 26.77 million tonnes in the Champang oil fields in the Wokha district.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which had stopped exploration in the 1990s due to security reasons and local resistance, would restart exploration in the Champang fields in the Wokha district soon. The ONGC has carried out geological, geophysical and exploratory drilling in the belt of Schuppen, which covers an area of 3,000 sq km in the foothills of the state bordering Assam where a large number of oil prospects have already been identified. The oil structures are mostly in the fractured basement as well as in the overlying shelf-facies sediments in the sub-thrust blocks below the Naga thrust and in the up-thrust stones at a depth from 3,000m to 6,000m. The ‘Belt of Schuppen’ as well as the adjoining areas with Nagaland is one of the most promising ‘on land’ oil bearing regions in the country and therefore has great potential for investments. These are being offered under NELP by the centre.

Meanwhile, Dimapur police has arrested a person for threatening a journalist and an advertising staff of Nagaland Post for not publishing his article. The person, who claimed to be a member of an underground outfit, entered into the advt office of the daily in an inebriated condition and threatened the journalist and staff of the Dimapur based English daily. However, after his arrest, the person gave a written apology to  the staff of the daily. The journalist later, requested the police to   release him. Meanwhile, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has condemned the incident.

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