New Delhi, Sep 21 (NationPress) The public sector upstream oil major ONGC is set to commence the drilling of stratigraphic wells in India’s offshore basins at the start of next year. This initiative is part of the nation’s strategy to boost the search for oil and gas, enhancing energy security while reducing import reliance, as confirmed by a senior official.

The drilling operations will be conducted with the collaboration of global oil and gas leader BP, focusing on the Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal offshore sedimentary basins. The entire endeavor will see an investment of Rs 3,200 crore.

In July, ONGC entered into a partnership agreement with BP aimed at improving geological insights and unlocking untapped hydrocarbon resources, thereby bolstering India's long-term energy stability.

BP’s expertise in deep-water exploration, coupled with advanced seismic technology, will be invaluable for well design and location selection during the stratigraphic drilling. Under the partnership, ONGC will contribute funding while BP will lend its technical expertise.

The stratigraphic drilling is designed to enhance understanding of the geology of these offshore basins and to identify potential hydrocarbon resources for future exploration.

This memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri during the Urja Varta 2025 event in Delhi.

The Minister emphasized the geological significance of the Andaman and Nicobar basin, which, due to its tectonic setting at the junction of the Indian and Burmese plates, has resulted in the formation of multiple stratigraphic traps that favor hydrocarbon accumulation. This geological potential is further enhanced by the basin's proximity to established petroleum systems in Myanmar and North Sumatra.

The region has garnered renewed global attention following substantial gas discoveries in the South Andaman offshore of Indonesia, underscoring the geological continuity across the area, as explained by the minister.

In a notable advancement, ONGC along with Oil India Ltd (OIL) has initiated an ambitious exploration project in the ultra-deepwater region of Andaman. For the first time, drilling is targeting depths of up to 5000 metres. One such exploratory well, ANDW-7, drilled in a carbonate play in the East Andaman Back Arc region, has provided promising geological insights, including traces of light crude and condensate in cutting samples, as well as heavy hydrocarbons like C-5 neo-pentane in trip gases, as stated by the minister.

These discoveries mark the first evidence of an active thermogenic petroleum system in the region, comparable to those found in Myanmar and North Sumatra. While commercial reserves are yet to be confirmed, this initiative has validated the existence of a functioning petroleum system and set the groundwork for targeted exploration in the area, the minister noted.

Offering an overview of the exploration results thus far, the Minister revealed that ONGC has made hydrocarbon discoveries across 20 blocks, with an estimated reserve of 75 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent. Meanwhile, Oil India Ltd. has recorded seven oil and gas discoveries over the last four years, with reserves estimated at 9.8 million barrels of oil and 2,706.3 million standard cubic meters of gas.