ONGC plans to invest approximately $10.5 billion (₹1 trillion) over the next five years to develop deepwater and ultra‑deepwater oil and gas resources in India.
The allocation will finance the drilling of 87 wells by March 2031, according to ONGC Chairman and CEO A K Singh, who made the announcement at a recent press conference.
Singh highlighted that recent technological breakthroughs now enable access to India’s sizable deepwater oil and gas reserves, previously untapped.
The intensified exploration programme forms part of ONGC’s strategy to counter declining domestic oil and gas output.
Singh noted that India’s crude oil production fell for the 11th straight year in fiscal year 2026, underscoring the urgency of new discoveries to bolster domestic supply.
In parallel with its exploration efforts, ONGC will earmark roughly ₹70 billion for building a 1.75 million‑tonne strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) in Mangalore, southern India.
The Indian government has instructed ONGC to develop the facility, and land acquisition for the project is already complete.
Expanding SPR capacity aligns with the nation’s approach to mitigating global oil price volatility and supply interruptions.
Singh also indicated that ONGC intends to launch a trading unit in either Dubai or Singapore by the end of March 2027.
The prospective joint venture with a global partner could process up to 50 million tonnes of crude oil, refined fuels and gas each year, trading both ONGC’s own cargoes and third‑party volumes.
ONGC signed a two‑year binding letter of award with Transocean last month to deploy the latter’s Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 drill‑ship in Indian waters.
