New Delhi: Oil & Natural Gas Corp. plans to spend about ₹1 trillion through fiscal 2031 on deepwater exploration, anchoring India’s state-backed push to boost domestic energy production and curb reliance on imported crude.
Addressing reporters on Monday after the company's annual general meeting, Arun Kumar Singh, chairman and chief executive officer of ONGC, said, “The investment will be about ₹20,000 crore per year during the five-year period.”
The five-year investment drive will target deep and ultra-deepwater offshore blocks with an estimated 5,600 million metric tonnes of oil-equivalent reserves. The state-run explorer intends to fund the push independently without relying on government subsidies from New Delhi's recently approved ₹84,000 crore Samudra Manthan deepwater incentive scheme.
ONGC is also expanding its global footprint by launching an offshore oil and petroleum trading venture in Dubai or Singapore by late 2026. The unit, being developed with international partners, aims to capture up to $1 billion annually through optimized crude sourcing, freight, and risk hedging.
"We are very close to it (setting up the trading platform). Already 95% work is done," Singh said.
The aggressive expansion comes as subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) prepares to resume operations in Venezuela following fresh US sanctions relief. Crucially, the parent firm is also finalizing plans to build a 1.75 million metric tonne (MMT) strategic petroleum reserve in Karnataka to strengthen the country's energy buffer.
Rajarshi Gupta, the managing director of OVL, said that after getting the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licence in July to operate in the South American country, the company is now in talks with the Venezuelan authorities on the framework for operations, which is expected to be ready within three months.
So far, ONGC has bagged about 68% of the total deepwater acreage till the ninth round of bidding under the open acreage licensing policy (OALP).
Exploration of 10 deepwater wells is expected in FY28, and another over 350 exploratory wells (both onshore and offshore) are expected by FY31.
Speaking on plans to set up a strategic petroleum reserve amid the government's push to increase domestic crude reserves, the ONGC chairman said the business model is being worked out, and construction is expected to start soon.
"We already have land parcel at Mangalore SEZ. Business model is now being worked…we will shortly commence the process of construction," he said.
On Monday, its shares on BSE closed at ₹232, down 0.09% from its previous close.
Rituraj Baruah is a special correspondent covering energy, housing, urban affairs, heavy industries and small businesses at Mint. He has reported on diverse sectors over the last eight years including, commodities and stocks market, insolvency and real estate; with previous stints at Cogencis Information Services, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) and Inc42.
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