The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Saturday (August 1) unveiled its seven year plan under the mega Samudra Manthan programme announced on July 31 by the Union cabinet.
The ONGC is set to accelerate deepwater exploration with plans to drill 150 deepwater wells over seven years, aligning with the larger National Offshore Exploration Scheme, the timeline of which is also seven years.
ONGC plans under the Samudramanthan Mission
A leading oil and natural gas refiner, and one of the 14 Maharatna companies in the country, ONGC is set to pursue nearly 5,600 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) of deepwater and ultra-deepwater hydrocarbon potential.
The DeepX Unit set to undertake the challenge
The exploration will be spearheaded by DeepX, a mission-mode team of more than 30 experts that will work with advanced technologies and global specialists, while using a “One Company, One Data” approach.
Main focus of Samudramanthan
The scheme is intended to reduce exploration risks, attract investment and boost domestic oil and gas production, thereby strengthening energy security and reducing import dependence.
Widely documented during the US-Iran war and many other skirmishes in the Gulf, India’s dependence on Gulf petroleum has made the country face sporadic problems. Thus, this scheme, coined Samduramanathan has been envisaged to harbour self dependency in the field energy for India.
ONGC Remains focussed on Off-Shore Work
Highlighting that the company already made the discoveries of Utkal and Konark oil wells off the shore of Mahanadi and another exploratory well MN-DW18-1-H-D now being drilled around 23 nautical miles from Konark off the Odisha coast, they are focussed on remaining the primary source of offshore drilling for petroleum.
In a social media post, ONGC said the programme could help unlock new reserves, accelerate development of discoveries and build indigenous deepwater capabilities.