ONGC and Reliance Ink Pact for Offshore Resource Sharing in Deepwater Projects

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries have signed a strategic agreement to jointly share critical offshore resources, including drilling rigs, marine vessels, processing facilities, pipelines, and subsea equipment, to enhance efficiency in deepwater exploration and production operations on India’s East Coast. The collaboration focuses on fields in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin and Andaman offshore, where both companies operate adjacent blocks. The pact aims to reduce duplication, optimize capital deployment, lower costs, and accelerate project timelines by enabling seamless movement of assets like offshore supply vessels (OSVs) between sites—without repeated de-hiring or regulatory delays. Pankaj Kumar, ONGC Director (Production), highlighted that the partnership marks a major step toward cost optimization, improved asset utilization, and stronger synergy between India’s largest public and private energy firms. This is the second joint initiative between the two in recent years—following their 2024 alliance with BP to bid for an offshore block under OALP IX in the Saurashtra Basin. As India seeks to boost domestic hydrocarbon output and energy security, this resource-sharing model sets a precedent for industry-wide collaboration in complex, high-cost deepwater environments.