ONGC to boost exploration with ₹31,000 cr investment over 3 years

India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Thursday said it will invest ₹31,000 crore in the fiscal years 2022-2025, a growth of 50% over the last three year period, to intensify its exploration efforts.

In a statement, ONGC said its board held a meeting today to firm up its 'Future Exploration Strategy'.

"The company has drawn up a comprehensive roadmap to further intensify its exploration campaign, allocating a capital expenditure of about ₹31,000 crore in the next three fiscal years during FY 2022-25. This is 150 per cent of its exploration expenditure of ₹20,670 crore in the last three fiscals during FY 2019-22," it said.

"ONGC also plans to leverage international collaborations with reputed global majors for this, for which talks are in an advanced stage," the top oil and gas producer said in a stock exchange filing.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, ships in over 80% of its oil needs. Asia's third largest economy wants to monetise its oil and gas resources to cut its import bill.

The company said it would invest funds for acquiring seismic survey and drilling of 115-120 wells every year to "probe around 1700 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas of yet to find reserves".

ONGC is also offering a stake to global oil companies to help develop its challenging fields off the country's east coast.

ONGC will complete the technical bid opening (TBO) for seismic data acquisition by next month.

In Andaman Basin, ONGC presently holds two blocks for exploration under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

"Government of India has also acquired seismic data in some sectors within 'No-Go' areas and few prospects are already identified," it said without giving details.

ONGC plans to drill six wells in the next three years (two under ONGC committed work program and four through government funding).

Reputed global companies/consultants are being invited for the assessment of the basin for future exploration and exploitation plan.

"ONGC's internal program has three components - re-exploration of mature basins, consolidation of emerging basins and probing of emerging and new basins," the statement read.