ONGC plans a massive Rs 1 lakh crore investment over five years for deepwater and multi-deepwater exploration. Chairman Arun Kumar Singh also announced three new hydrocarbon discoveries and detailed plans to drill more deepwater wells in the coming years.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to invest around Rs 1 lakh crore over five years in deepwater and multi-deepwater exploration as it steps up efforts to identify new hydrocarbon resources, while the company reported three new hydrocarbon discoveries in its operated offshore acreage during FY26, Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman and CEO, ONGC, said on Monday.

Highlights from Chairman's AGM Speech

In his Chairman's Speech at ONGC's 33rd Annual General Meeting (AGM), Singh said, "Three new hydrocarbon discoveries were notified in its operated offshore acreage."

Singh said testing concluded during FY26 established 55 wells as hydrocarbon-bearing, including wells drilled in previous years.

During FY26, ONGC acquired 957.25 lakh line kilometres (LKM) of 2D seismic data and 4,631.04 square kilometres (SKM) of 3D seismic data. The company has cumulatively drilled 79 exploratory wells and made 13 discoveries in its Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) blocks, Singh said.

Reserve accretion in 2P terms from ONGC-operated areas in India stood at 44.01 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE), resulting in a Reserve Replacement Ratio (RRR) of 1.17.

Deepwater Exploration Strategy

On deepwater exploration, Singh said in his speech, "India's next major discoveries are likely to come from deepwater, and your Company has taken up that responsibility in full measure."

He said ONGC had mobilised specialist knowledge and planned double-crew deepwater drilling activity over the next four years. The company has also floated a tender for exploratory wells in the ultra-deepwater domain.

Singh said ONGC had awarded AWDP-1 on January 27, 2026, the first strategic well under the government-approved scheme.

Mumbai High Redevelopment

The chairman also highlighted the redevelopment of Mumbai High. He said ONGC had placed the Notice of Award for the Redevelopment Phase-I Scheme with bp on December 26, 2025. The scheme is expected to deliver cumulative incremental production of 2.699 million tonnes (MMT) of oil and 2.806 billion cubic metres (BCM) of natural gas by March 2040, Singh said.

He said Mumbai High had been producing for five decades and was witnessing gradual decline, requiring advanced recovery methods, disciplined reservoir management and global best practices.

Investment and Drilling Plans

During the Q&A session following the speech, Singh said the scale of investment required for deepwater and multi-deepwater exploration could be around Rs 1 lakh crore over five years. He also said the government had decided to provide around Rs 84,000 crore for deepwater exploration over the next three to four years.

Singh said ONGC expected to drill around seven deepwater wells this year and 10 next year, taking the planned drilling to 17 wells over two years. With more seismic data available, the company could eventually drill around 20 wells on its own.

"Our reservoirs are old. And what we withdraw from reservoir, we need to find new reservoirs," Singh said during the Q&A, explaining the importance of maintaining a reserve replacement ratio above one.

Project Viability

On the economics of deepwater exploration, Singh said that if the discovered pool size was sufficiently large, an oil price above USD 40 per barrel could make such projects viable. "If the pool size is good, FPSO you put, anything above 40 is okay," he said.

Future Outlook and Sustainability

Singh also said ONGC expected oil and gas to remain dominant in the global energy mix over the next five to seven years, while the company would continue developing its renewable energy portfolio.

ONGC produced 20.599 MMT of crude oil and 19.066 BCM of natural gas during FY26, including its share from joint ventures. The company is targeting 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and Net Zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2038, Singh said. (ANI)

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