ONGC, Reliance sign pact to share offshore resources

State-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) have signed a deal to share offshore resources, including oil exploration rigs and offshore supply vessels used for locating and producing petroleum and gas, according to an official statement issued here on Wednesday.

According to the statement, ONGC Director (Production) Pankaj Kumar said that the two companies signed the agreement to enable resource sharing for deep-water offshore exploration and production operations on India’s east coast, particularly across the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, as well as Andaman offshore.

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“The deal marks a major step towards cost optimisation, faster execution and improved asset utilisation in complex deep-water projects while creating stronger synergies between India’s largest oil and gas producer and the nation’s biggest and most valuable company, which have adjacent fields and operations particularly off the east coast,” Pankaj Kumar said.

As part of the deal, opportunities will be explored “to jointly utilise resources, infrastructure, and technical capabilities across offshore energy activities to reduce duplication of efforts, optimise capital deployment and support timely development of offshore assets, which are critical to meeting India’s growing energy demand”.

“ONGC and Reliance will pursue sharing of key resources required for offshore operations, which may include (but is not limited to): onshore and offshore processing facilities, drilling rigs, marine vessels (MSV, Tugs, PSV), power, pipelines, logging and well services, etc.,” according to the ONGC statement.

According to the ONGC statement, the agreement is expected to help in cost optimisation through shared use of high-value rigs, vessels, logistics, as well as specialised subsea equipment.

The deal is also expected “to improve resource utilisation by reducing duplication and idle capacity across operators, faster mobilisation and execution by improving access to the limited deep-water services available, and stronger operational resilience as well as safety readiness through shared emergency response, besides training capabilities”.

The deal, which is aligned with the Government of India’s broader energy and maritime vision, reinforces India’s focus on self-reliance, faster project execution, and sustainable development of offshore resources, the statement mentioned.