ONGC starts drilling first deepwater well in Mahanadi offshore basin under Samudra Manthan mission

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Saturday commenced drilling its first deepwater exploratory well in the Mahanadi offshore basin, marking the start of an ambitious campaign to tap India’s deep and ultra-deepwater hydrocarbon resources. ONGC spudded exploratory well, MN-DW18-1-H-D under the government’s Samudra Manthan mission, the firm said in a statement.

The well is being drilled around 23 nautical miles from the Konark discovery off the Odisha coast, building on ONGC’s recent Utkal and Konark discoveries that have strengthened the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Mahanadi Offshore Basin.

The drilling campaign forms part of the push to accelerate exploration of India’s offshore oil and gas reserves. In his Independence Day address on August 15, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for harnessing country’s untapped offshore hydrocarbon potential.

In line with that vision, the government has opened nearly one million square kilometres of previously restricted offshore areas for exploration, paving the way for fresh acreage to be offered under upcoming rounds of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

India’s eastern and western offshore basins, extending to water depths of up to 3,000 metres, are estimated to hold more than 5,600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) of hydrocarbon resources. Recent exploration successes in the Cauvery, Mahanadi and Andaman basins have further strengthened the outlook for offshore exploration, according to the statement.

To support the deepwater exploration programme, ONGC in January this year launched its flagship Deepwater Exploration Mission Centre, DeepX, in Mumbai. The centre integrates the company’s geoscientific expertise, advanced interpretation capabilities, specialised training and global collaborations under its “One Company, One Data” philosophy. The company said the commencement of drilling marks the beginning of one of India’s most challenging deepwater exploration campaigns, aimed at boosting domestic oil and gas production, reducing import dependence and strengthening the country’s energy security.

“The commencement of drilling marks the beginning of one of India’s most challenging deepwater exploration campaigns. Every prospect evaluated, well drilled and discovery made will contribute towards enhancing domestic production, reducing import dependence and strengthening India’s energy security and self-reliance,” the statement said.