Bhubaneswar: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) has struck gas at its deepwater well MN-DW18-1-H-D in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin, off the Odisha coast, under the Samudra Manthan initiative.
The gas discovery was made on September 18, 2026, at an interval of 1,441 to 1,452 metres. The well was drilled to a target depth of 1,623 metres and is located approximately 43 km off Konark, ONGC said in a press release.
The well is the first drilled by ONGC in the Mahanadi Basin under the Samudra Manthan campaign. Its location relatively close to the Odisha coast offers potential for early monetisation, subject to further appraisal and commercial evaluation.
ONGC said the well has been flowing gas with encouraging flow and reservoir pressure for the last three days. The discovery is expected to strengthen the company’s deepwater exploration programme and contribute to efforts to expand India’s indigenous hydrocarbon resource base.
The well was spudded on July 25, 2026, by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.
Earlier, on August 27, ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh, Director (Technology & Field Services) Vikram Saxena and Director (Exploration) O. P. Sinha visited the drillship Platinum Explorer. They interacted with and encouraged the team involved in the drilling campaign.
ONGC said the discovery, along with other finds in the area, could be considered for development through shared facilities enabled by the PNG Rules, 2025. Such an approach could help bring deepwater resources into production.
Puri described the discovery as a milestone for India’s offshore energy exploration and said ONGC was continuing to explore the country’s deep and ultra-deepwater frontiers under the Samudra Manthan initiative.
In a post on X, he said the discovery, along with other finds in the area, opened up the potential for cluster development through shared facilities under the PNG Rules, 2025, providing a pathway to bring deepwater resources into production more efficiently.
The discovery remains subject to further appraisal and commercial evaluation before its development potential can be determined.
