- ONGC plans to drill 8 wells in FY’27, targets 87 wells through FY’31
- Govt’s Samudra Manthan scheme supports offshore exploration
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to invest about INR 1 lakh crore over five years to drill 87 deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells in India’s offshore basins through FY’31, as the country seeks to boost domestic hydrocarbon production and reduce import dependence.
Deepwater exploration accelerates
ONGC plans to drill eight wells in FY’27 (financial year 2026-27), gradually increasing to 27 wells in FY’31 and culminating in a total of 87 through FY’31. The programme comes as ageing fields continue to face natural production declines, creating a need for new reserves.
The investment is aligned with the government’s INR 84,000-crore Samudra Manthan scheme, which provides support for deepwater exploration, offshore data acquisition and common production infrastructure.
The government expects the scheme to support reserve accretion of more than 600 million tonnes of oil and oil-equivalent gas.
Production impact to take time
India imports more than 88% of its oil requirements and around 50% of its natural gas requirements. However, deepwater exploration is a long-gestation activity, with commercial production typically taking five to 10 years from exploration block award.
The programme is therefore primarily aimed at building future reserves and reversing the structural decline in domestic production, rather than providing an immediate increase in supply.
Trading joint venture planned
ONGC also plans to establish an international crude and petroleum product trading joint venture (JV) in Dubai or Singapore by the end of 2026.
The proposed JV could handle up to 90 mnt of crude oil and petroleum products annually and consolidate trading activities currently undertaken across the ONGC group.
Market implications
The deepwater programme could increase activity across India’s offshore drilling, engineering, and oilfield-services value chain. Successful discoveries could eventually strengthen domestic hydrocarbon availability and reduce exposure to imported energy.
The trading JV could meanwhile improve crude procurement and international trading efficiency, giving ONGC greater flexibility across global energy markets.
ONGC’s exploration spending is expected to rise progressively through FY’31 as drilling activity increases. The programme’s impact on domestic production will depend on discovery rates, commercial viability, and the time required to develop successful fields.
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