Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will invest Rs 31,000 crore in the fiscal years 2022-2025, a growth of 50% over the last three-year period, to intensify its exploration efforts.
"The company has drawn up a comprehensive roadmap to further intensify its exploration campaign, allocating a capital expenditure of about Rs 31,000 crore in the next three fiscal years during FY 2022-25. This is 150% of its exploration expenditure of Rs 20,670 crore in the last three fiscals during FY 2019-22," it said.
"ONGC also plans to leverage international collaborations with reputed global majors for this, for which talks are in an advanced stage," the top oil and gas producer said in a stock exchange filing.
India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, ships in over 80% of its oil needs. Asia’s third-largest economy wants to monetise its oil and gas resources to cut its import bill.
The company said it would invest funds for acquiring seismic surveys and drilling 115-120 wells every year to "probe around 1700 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas of yet to find reserves".
ONGC is also offering a stake to global oil companies to help develop its challenging fields on the country’s east coast.
ONGC will complete the technical bid opening (TBO) for seismic data acquisition by next month.
In Andaman Basin, ONGC presently holds two blocks for exploration under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
ONGC plans to drill six wells in the next three years (two under ONGC committed work program and four through government funding).
Reputed global companies/consultants are being invited for the assessment of the basin for future exploration and exploitation plans.