8 SEPTEMBER, 2025ONGC, OIL INDIA LAUNCH RS 3,200 CR OFFSHORE DRILLING DRIVEState-owned oil firms ONGC and Oil India Ltd are planning to commence a 3,200 crore stratigraphic drilling program in unexplored offshore areas in early next year, which is primarily aimed at discovering new hydrocarbon reserves and reducing import dependency, officials said.The first phase will involve the drilling of four wells in the deep-sea areas of sedimentary basins of the Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal. ONGC offshore drilling and Oil India drilling project kick off a 3,200 crore offshore drive to boost India oil exploration.Global energy giant BP will assist with the project by delivering technical expertise of identifying drilling location and operations. Stratigraphic drilling, otherwise known as stratigraphic test wells, is one form of exploratory drilling, that are focused on examining subsurface geological formations, and not on immediate oil & gas production and usually in remote areas.The ONGC Oil India partnership strengthens India energy security, advancing offshore drilling India initiatives and supporting growth in the India oil and gas sector through ONGC energy projects and Oil India offshore exploration.Stratigraphic wells are drilled so that multi data can obtained sensations continuous coring, petrophysical logging, and integration of seismic data to develop a relatively complex geological profile of a subsurface for the purpose of assessing whether these areas may have commercially recoverable hydrocarbon resources, for the purpose of the making the best possible informed decision to future drilling and development needs, without drilling or extracting oil or gas at this point in time."ONGC has stated that they have a rig and we hope to start drilling sometime in early 2026", an official connected to the process stated. The government has acceded to pay Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL) for the outlay of the stratigraphic drilling campaign. The estimated cost of 3,200 crore also includes a fee to BP for their services, officials stated.The other official added, "The blocks (or areas) where the stratigraphic drilling is to take place is currently owned by the government and it alone will decide how any discovery has to be monetised - either through auctioning the area or giving it to a company or a consortium on a nomination basis"."It is entirely possible that they demand a first right of refusal (ROFR) in any development - getting a predefined percentage of stake in any consortium that monetises a discovery. But nothing has been conveyed so far", the official noted. IMRTOP STORIES· ONGC and Oil India Ltd plan stratigraphic drilling in untapped deepsea areas· Four wells will be drilled in Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal basins· Focuses on studying underground geological formations through coring, logging, and seismic data
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