ONGC Strikes Gold With Two Oil And Gas Discoveries In Arabian Sea

India's largest oil and gas producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered crude oil and natural gas in two blocks in Mumbai Offshore (SW) on the Arabian Sea, the company said on 12 May.

The discoveries made on the country’s west coast have been named ‘Amrit’ and ‘Moonga’ and are about 100 km and 30 km from the landfall points respectively.

Both these discoveries were made in the exploration blocks won by the Company in the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid rounds I and III.

The State-owned firm didn’t give more details on the discoveries as it is engaged in a detailed assessment currently. It has notified the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP&NG) about these remarkable findings.

“With these notable findings in the OALP I and OALP III rounds, ONGC reaffirms its exploration commitment to unlocking the vast potential of India's hydrocarbon resources along with reserves accretion, strengthening the nation's energy security,” said Sushma Rawat, Director of Exploration at ONGC.

Following the assessment of the available data from the current well, the company will be able to decide whether it needs to drill more wells for exploration and appraisal.

Successive Discoveries

With these discoveries, ONGC continues its impressive streak in the OALP blocks by making new discoveries in consecutive years.

Earlier in February 2023, the Company had unveiled a key offshore gas discovery in the prolific Mumbai basin,. The discovery was made on block MB-OSHP-2017/1, which was also awarded to ONGC as a part of the OALP round.

“The success at a depth of 3,800 metre is so far the deepest recorded presence of a commercial pool in the sector,” ONGC noted.

The company is expected to appraise the offshore discovery and is likely to drill additional exploration wells in the region, industry sources said.

ONGC's discoveries in both the OALP I and OALP III rounds carry significant importance towards energy security by bolstering domestic production.

The reduced dependence on imported oil and gas enhances the country's resilience to global market fluctuations, ensuring a stable and secure energy supply.