Archive · 1 Sep 2026
ONGC Plans $10.5 Billion Deepwater and Energy Expansion
ONGC is an Indian company that searches for and produces oil and gas.
It plans to spend about ₹1 lakh crore exploring very deep areas under the sea.
The company wants to drill 87 wells by March 2031.
This could help India find more domestic oil and gas as local crude production has been falling.
ONGC also plans to build a large emergency oil-storage facility in Mangalore.
The facility will hold 1.75 million tonnes of crude oil.
Separately, ONGC may create a trading business in Dubai or Singapore to buy and sell oil, fuels and gas.
ONGC Videsh is also working with Venezuela on a plan for future operations there.
ONGC plans to invest about ₹1 lakh crore over five years to drill 87 deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells by March 2031.
The exploration drive is intended to develop offshore reserves and counter India’s prolonged decline in domestic crude production.
ONGC will spend about ₹7,000 crore on a 1.75-million-tonne strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore.
The company is preparing an international trading joint venture in Dubai or Singapore that could handle 50 million tonnes of oil and gas annually.
ONGC Videsh is discussing an operating framework with Venezuelan authorities after receiving an OFAC licence in July.
- Who
- State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, led by Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh, and its overseas arm ONGC Videsh, led by Managing Director Rajarshi Gupta.
- What
- ONGC is expanding deepwater exploration, building an emergency crude reserve, preparing an international trading joint venture and pursuing a larger operating role in Venezuela.
- When
- The drilling programme runs through March 2031. The trading platform is targeted for the end of the year in one account and by the end of March 2027 in another.
- Where
- Exploration will focus on India’s eastern and western offshore basins; the reserve will be built at Mangalore; and Dubai or Singapore are being considered for the trading hub.
- Why
- The plans are intended to develop untapped offshore resources, address declining domestic crude production, strengthen emergency oil storage and expand ONGC’s international energy business.
- Deepwater investment
- About ₹1 lakh crore over five years
- Planned drilling
- 87 deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells by March 2031
- Initial drilling pace
- About seven deepwater wells this year and 10 next year
- Strategic reserve
- A 1.75-million-tonne facility at Mangalore costing about ₹7,000 crore
- Current emergency storage
- India has 5.33 million tonnes of dedicated emergency crude-storage capacity
- Trading joint venture
- A proposed Dubai- or Singapore-based platform could trade about 50 million tonnes of crude, refined products and gas annually, including third-party volumes
- Venezuela operations
- ONGC Videsh received an OFAC licence in July and is discussing an operating framework with Venezuelan authorities
