The oil and gas sector is one of the eight major industries in India. India’s economic growth is closely linked to its energy demand, which is expected to increase in the coming years. The increasing demand for oil and gas has made the sector very attractive as an investment destination. BusinessLine’s Rishi Ranjan Kala speaks to Sushma Rawat, Director (Exploration), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) in this interview. Current Economic Podcast On the importance of oil exploration to boost India’s economic growth.
Rawat emphasises the importance of exploration in the oil and gas sector, explaining that it forms the foundation of the hydrocarbon industry. Exploration involves understanding the subsurface geology, geological structures and petroleum systems to find potential oil and gas reserves. India has 26 sedimentary basins and ONGC has been responsible for significant discoveries outside Assam since its inception in 1956. The exploration process involves surface geological surveys, geochemical surveys, seismic surveys and drilling of exploration wells.
She noted that only 10 percent of India’s sedimentary basin area has been assessed so far and highlighted ONGC’s efforts to increase domestic production. ONGC is working to expand this assessment area and recent major discoveries, such as those in the Mahanadi offshore basin, show promising potential. She also noted that exploration contributes to the country’s wealth and ONGC has projected a resource base of around 42 billion tonnes of oil and gas equivalent, of which only a small fraction has been discovered.
In the context of energy transition and the growing importance of green energy, Rawat outlines ONGC’s adaptation strategy. She mentions the importance of gas as a transitional fuel and points out ONGC’s efforts towards increasing gas production and exploring alternative energy sources such as natural hydrogen and geothermal energy. Additionally, she discusses the potential of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and the use of gas-based power plants as a cleaner source of energy.
Rawat also spoke about ONGC’s partnerships with international oil and gas majors such as Exxon, Chevron, Total, Shell and Equinor to ramp up exploration activities. These partnerships include joint technology research and data sharing, with a special focus on the eastern and western offshore basins. She expressed optimism about upcoming offshore bidding rounds and potential amendments to the Orda Act, which could garner more international interest.
She outlined ONGC’s plans to significantly expand its exploration area from the current 1.92 million square kilometers to 500,000 square kilometers within the next two years. This expansion will require significant capital expenditure (CapEx) for data acquisition, processing and exploration drilling. ONGC is looking to shorten the discovery-to-production cycle and is investing in advanced technologies for deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration.
(host: Rishi Ranjan Kala, producer: Anjana PV
About the State of the Economy Podcast
The Indian economy has been hailed as a bright spot in a climate of gloom that seems to be gripping the rest of the world. But some sectors remain stagnant while others appear to be thriving. To understand the country’s contradictions, Business Line We bring you podcasts from experts in a variety of fields, from finance to marketing, technology, and startups.
