ONGC has discovered gas in a deepwater well about 43 km off Odisha’s coast, marking a significant development in India’s offshore energy exploration and opening the possibility of faster production if further appraisal confirms commercial viability.
The discovery was made on September 18 at the MN-DW18-1-H-D well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin, the state-run explorer said in a statement. The well was drilled under ONGC’s Samudra Manthan deepwater exploration campaign and is the first well drilled by the company in the basin under the programme.
The well encountered gas at a depth of between 1,441 metres and 1,452 metres after drilling reached a target depth of 1,623 metres. ONGC said the well had continued to flow gas for three days and showed encouraging flow and reservoir pressure. The company will now conduct additional reservoir appraisal, assess recoverable resources and undertake a commercial evaluation before deciding whether to develop the discovery.
The well was spudded on July 25 using the drillship Platinum Explorer. Its location relatively close to the Odisha coastline could reduce the distance and infrastructure requirements involved in bringing the resource into production, but ONGC said development would depend on the discovery being found commercially viable.
The company also said the gas find could potentially be developed alongside other discoveries in the region through common facilities. Such an approach could reduce the need to build separate infrastructure for each offshore field. ONGC said the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025, allow deepwater resources in the area to be brought into production using shared infrastructure.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri described the discovery as a major milestone for India’s offshore energy exploration. The announcement comes as ONGC increases activity across the country’s deepwater basins and seeks to raise domestic oil and gas output.
The wider Samudra Manthan National Offshore Exploration Scheme is planned to run through financial year 2030-31. According to the information provided by ONGC, the programme will combine seismic surveys, deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration, scientific drilling, common offshore infrastructure and an integrated manufacturing and services ecosystem. It is expected to add more than 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent to India’s reserves.
The programme also includes large-scale collection and interpretation of seismic data, digital programme management, technology adoption, capacity building and stakeholder engagement. Proposed shared production and evacuation infrastructure is intended to support the development of multiple offshore resources.
The Mahanadi Basin discovery arrives as India remains heavily dependent on imported crude oil, with nearly 90% of requirements met through imports, according to the supplied report. However, the newly identified gas resource cannot yet be counted as commercial production. ONGC’s next steps are appraisal, resource evaluation and a commercial assessment before any development decision is taken.
