ONGC’s first well drilled in the Mahanadi Basin, MN‑DW18‑1‑H‑D, tapped a gas reservoir at 1,441‑1,452 metres depth and has been flowing steadily for three days, the company said on Monday. The well, spudded on July 25 with the drillship Platinum Explorer, sits just 43 km from Odisha’s Konark and marks the first breakthrough of ONGC’s Samudra Manthan deep‑water campaign.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hailed the find as a “major milestone” for India’s offshore exploration, noting that the well’s proximity to the coast could shorten the time to production if the resources prove commercially viable. He added that the discovery could even be developed alongside other nearby finds by leveraging common facilities.
Following the discovery, ONGC will carry out further reservoir appraisal, evaluate recoverable volumes and conduct a commercial assessment before announcing a development plan. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025, allow deepwater fields within the basin to be brought into production using shared infrastructure, a provision ONGC intends to exploit.
The gas strike comes as ONGC ramps up exploration under the Samudra Manthan scheme, which aims to add more than 600 MMTOE to India’s reserves by FY 2030‑31. The push is a response to India’s heavy reliance on imported crude, a vulnerability starkly highlighted during the US‑Iran conflict when the Strait of Hormuz closure threatened supply lines. The next step for ONGC is the appraisal phase, with a development decision slated for later this year.