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Informist, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. is "betting big" on deepwater exploration as it seeks greener pastures for faster growth. The company will invest roughly INR 200 billion per annum over the next five years and drill 87 deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells by March 2031, Chairman A.K. Singh told reporters Monday.

 

ONGC has identified potential oil and gas reserves of about 5.6 billion tonnes of oil equivalent in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas. "Deepwater and ultra-deepwater is a huge area for India... we have a sedimentary basin in offshore deepwater which is bigger than that of Brazil," Singh said.

 

India did not focus much on deepwater exploration in the past for two reasons, high costs and risks. Singh, however, said the technology is now available to move forward with the plan.

 

ONGC's profitability remains flat, partly because there is no growth in discoveries, Singh said. The government recently announced a national offshore exploration scheme, Samudra Manthan, with an outlay of INR 840.84 billion over five years to scale up deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas exploration.

 

ONGC is India's biggest oil exploration and production company, contributing to around 70% of the country's domestic crude oil production. However, production has stagnated over the years as fields have matured. "To grow big, we need a big discovery; if we really want 20-30% growth, we badly need a discovery," Singh said. 

 

The company has engaged the services of BP Plc. as a technical service provider to arrest the decline in production at the Mumbai High field. The company envisages a 44% gain in crude oil and 89% in natural gas over baseline production.

ONGC plans to drill eight deepwater wells in the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) and 10 in FY28. Overall, the company has planned over 350 exploratory wells, including onshore and offshore. Monday, its shares ended at INR 231.80 on the National Stock Exchange, down slightly from Friday.  End

 

Reported by Anand JC

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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