State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with ExxonMobil for Deepwater exploration in East and West coasts of India.
The agreement was signed ONGC’s Director (Exploration) Rajesh Kumar Srivastava and ExxonMobil India’s CEO and Lead Country Manager Monte K Dobson in the presence of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) Secretary Pankaj Jain, the oil exploration major said in a statement.
Collaboration areas
The collaboration areas focus on the Krishna Godavari and Cauvery Basins in the eastern offshore and the Kutch-Mumbai region in the western offshore, it added.
“There has been a scientific exchange of exploration data in the last few years, which has led to this partnership. Collaboration between ONGC and ExxonMobil will be a strategic fit where ONGC’s knowledge and past experience in these areas will be coupled with ExxonMobil’s global insights,” the CPSU said.
The Petroleum Secretary said that partnerships between a national oil company like ONGC and an international oil company like ExxonMobil will bring tangible benefits in the entire energy value chain and open new vistas to the Exploration & Production (E&P) paradigm.
“This collaboration will boost our confidence in going further ahead in deepwater exploration in the east coast of India where the potential is quite significant,” Jain added.
ONGC’s Srivastava said that through the discovery route, ONGC hopes to move to development wherein the inherent strength of ExxonMobil would be beneficial for efficient fast-track monetisation. This will enable ONGC to ensure steps towards energy security for India.
ExxonMobil India’s CEO termed the agreement as an exciting opportunity to collaborate with ONGC. He added that 25 per cent of the ExxonMobil brain power is currently engaged in evaluating Indian deepwater and the global petroleum giant is geared up to take this collaboration to the next level.