New Delhi, Sep 21: Public sector upstream oil giant ONGC is poised to kick off the drilling of stratigraphic wells in India’s offshore basins at the beginning of next year as part of the country’s efforts to step up the search for oil and gas to enhance energy security and cut down on imports, a senior official has confirmed.

The drilling, which will be carried out with the assistance of global oil and gas giant BP, will focus on the Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal offshore sedimentary basins. The entire campaign will be carried out with an investment of Rs 3,200 crore.

ONGC had signed an agreement with BP in July this year to form a partnership that will enhance geological understanding and unlock untapped hydrocarbon potential, strengthening India's long-term energy security.

BP's experience in deep water exploration, supported by new seismic technologies, would be of great assistance during the well design and well location for the stratigraphic drilling. As part of the agreement, ONGC will be putting in money, while BP will provide expertise.

The stratigraphic drilling will focus on understanding the geology of the offshore basins and identifying potential hydrocarbon resources which can be taken up for oil and gas exploration in the future.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on the sidelines of Urja Varta 2025 event in Delhi.

The Minister recently highlighted the geological significance of the Andaman and Nicobar basin. The tectonic setting, located at the boundary of the Indian and Burmese plates, has led to the formation of numerous stratigraphic traps that are conducive to hydrocarbon accumulation. This geological promise is further amplified by the basin's proximity to proven petroleum systems in Myanmar and North Sumatra.

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The region has attracted renewed global interest following significant gas discoveries in South Andaman offshore Indonesia, underlining the geological continuity across the region, the minister explained.

In a significant development, ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) have launched an ambitious exploration campaign in the Andaman ultra-deepwater region. For the first time, drilling operations are targeting depths of up to 5000 metres. One such wildcat well, ANDW-7, drilled in a carbonate play in the East Andaman Back Arc region, has yielded encouraging geological insights. These include traces of light crude and condensate in cutting samples, heavy hydrocarbons like C-5 neo-pentane in trip gases, the minister further stated.

These findings establish, for the first time, the existence of an active thermogenic petroleum system in the region, comparable to those in Myanmar and North Sumatra. While commercial reserves remain to be established, this campaign has validated the presence of a working petroleum system and laid the foundation for focused exploration in the area, the minister said.

Providing an overview of the exploration outcomes so far, the Minister informed that ONGC has made hydrocarbon discoveries in 20 blocks, with an estimated reserve of 75 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent. Oil India Ltd., on its part, has made seven oil and gas discoveries over the past four years, with reserves estimated at 9.8 million barrels of oil and 2,706.3 million standard cubic meters of gas.

(IANS)

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