The Oil and Natural Corp (ONGC) of India has tied up with Uranium Corp of India to jointly initiate the exploration and development projects. The chairman of ONGC, R.S. Sharma and that of UCIL, Ramendra Gupta signed the new agreement on November 11, 2008. The meeting between the organizations was also attended by the secretary of Department of Atomic Energy, Anil Kakodkar. The joint operation will focus on the exploration of uranium mines. According to ONGC statement, the alliance with UCIL will provide an edge to the company in prospecting mining and exploration.

 

The ONGC is reported to have started its research works regarding the whereabouts of uranium deposit. ONGC has got the traces of uranium while drilling oil and gas wells. UCIL which is focused on uranium mining and processing is trying to acquire uranium properties and exploration licenses in several countries, informed a company official. Report says that a joint committee will set up to plan out proper uranium exploration programme.  The public sector petroleum company of India, ONGC is involved in exploring hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India. With 11, 000 kilometers of pipelines across the country, it produces about 30% of India's crude oil requirement.