ONGC boosts performance with new-well gas and mature-field revival
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India’s largest oil and gas explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has posted its highest-ever first-half profit, driven largely by increased contribution from newly drilled gas wells, even as it continues to grapple with declining output from mature fields.
ONGC said its revenue from new-well gas stood at ₹7,050 crore in H1 FY27, accounting for more than 34% of ONGC’s total revenue from its nomination gas portfolio. This marks a reversal of the trend in recent years, when production from ageing wells declined, and the company struggled to sustain output from new wells. ONGC reported a gross revenue of ₹4,03,251 crore in the first six months of FY27, up 25.6% from the previous financial year, while net profit reached a record ₹28,642 crore.
BP partnership working out
ONGC has now expanded its engagement with MNC oil giant BP as a Technical Service Provider (TSP) for its entire Western Offshore operations, beyond Mumbai High. The initiative is aimed at arresting natural decline in mature fields through focused interventions, improved reservoir management and accelerated development activities.
ONGC said BP has mobilised its team for TSP-2, covering the Western Offshore region except Mumbai High, in August 2026. The partnership builds on the initial engagement at Mumbai High, where BP’s technical interventions have focused on improving well performance, optimising production and unlocking additional recovery from the ageing reservoir. Mumbai High, discovered in 1974, is one of India’s most important offshore producing assets. Its production has declined substantially from peak levels, prompting ONGC to pursue intensive redevelopment and enhanced recovery measures.
New offshore & EP projects unlock potential
ONGC said it has awarded two major Western Offshore development projects—MBOSN-2005-1, SD-4 and BS-17, and additional development of Ratna-1 and NLM-14—with a combined capital investment of approximately ₹11,800 crore. The projects are expected to unlock an estimated 22 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) of hydrocarbon potential, strengthening future production from the region.
The company has also awarded Pipeline Replacement Project-X, costing more than ₹4,300 crore, to install new subsea pipelines and replace ageing infrastructure in Western Offshore. The project is expected to improve asset integrity, operational reliability and long-term production sustainability.
Together, the investments will strengthen offshore infrastructure and support production from both existing and newly developed fields.
ONGC’s exploration programme has also yielded encouraging results. Under Samudra Manthan, the company drilled its first exploratory well, MNDWO181HDB-1, in OALP Block MN-DWHP-2018/1 in the Mahanadi deepwater basin. The well has been proved gas-bearing and is going to be an important outcome of its deepwater exploration efforts under the National Offshore Exploration Scheme.
During Q2 FY27, ONGC notified two onshore hydrocarbon discoveries—Amraghat-1 in Assam and Vadatal-48 in Gujarat. Amraghat-1, drilled in Cachar District PML in the Assam-Arakan fold belt, targeted the Upper and Middle Bhuban formations. Successful gas flow led to its notification as a new prospect discovery.
Vadatal-48, drilled in Vadatal Ext-I PML in the Cambay basin, encountered a new sand below the producing Chhatral Pay. The discovery has been notified as a new pool in Chhatral Lower Pay, opening further exploration opportunities beneath the existing producing horizon.