ONGC to invest ₹31,000 cr. in finding oil, gas

ONGC board held a meeting to firm up its 'Future Exploration Strategy'

India's top oil and gas producer ONGC on Thursday said it will invest ₹31,000 crore over the next three years in exploring the Indian sedimentary basin for fuel reserves which could augment the nation's production in its attempt to be self-reliant in the energy sector.

In a statement, ONGC said its board held a meeting on Thursday to firm up its 'Future Exploration Strategy'.

"The company has drawn up a comprehensive roadmap to further intensify its exploration campaign, allocating a capital expenditure of about ₹31,000 crore in the next three fiscal years during FY 2022-25. This is 150% of its exploration expenditure of ₹20,670 crore in the last three fiscals during FY 2019-22," it said.

ONGC said it also plans to leverage international collaborations with reputed global majors for this, for which talks are in an advanced stage.

However, it did not elaborate.

India is 85% dependent on imports to meet its oil needs and half of the natural gas requirement is shipped from abroad. Finding and producing more oil and gas domestically will cut this reliance, helping insulate the domestic market from volatility in international energy prices.

"This exploration intensification includes activities funded through ONGC's internal program as well as funded and facilitated by the government," the statement said.