A new strategic collaboration between the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and bp India, will allow India to delve deeper into hydrocarbon exploration in the country.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two on Thursday says the aim of the alliance is to focus on drilling stratigraphic wells – also known as stratigraphic test wells – which are boreholes drilled to gather geological information about subsurface formations, rather than to produce oil or gas.
The wells will be dug in India’s category II and III offshore sedimentary basins – Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal, ONGC said in a statement posted on X.
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The state-run corporation also said the “partnership will enhance geological understanding and unlock untapped hydrocarbon potential, strengthening India’s long-term energy security”.
“Global expertise meets national ambition, powering the path to Atmanirbhar Bharat,” it said.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on the sidelines of ‘Urja Varta 2025,’ a platform for shaping the future of India’s energy landscape and reinforcing the country’s commitment to sustainability and innovation in the energy arena.
Meanwhile, bp India said the partnership was another step towards energy security and discovery of untapped reserves.
“We are excited to underpin our existing alliance with ONGC in this project of national and strategic significance. We believe drilling of new stratigraphic wells will be very valuable and can lead to a new understanding and potential. bp’s experience in deep water exploration supported by new seismic technologies would be of great assistance during the evaluation and subsequent drilling of stratigraphic wells,” said Kartikeya Dube, Head of Country, bp India.
During his address at the event, Puri said that he expects the new round of hydrocarbon exploration in India to strike several big Guyana-sized oilfields, particularly in the Andaman Sea.
“We are working on areas of good quality data availability for explorers, financial incentives, stable regulatory framework, derisking investments and ease of doing business to make India the next global frontier for oil and gas E&P (exploration and production),” he stated.
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