ONGC Begins Gas Production from Daman Project in Arabian Sea

ONGC Successfully Commissions Commercial Gas Supply from Daman Upside Development Project

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has achieved a significant milestone with the successful commissioning of commercial gas supply from Platform B-12-24P, part of the Daman Upside Development Project (DUDP), located in the Arabian Sea. The project, situated approximately 180 km north west of Mumbai and 80 km south of Pipavav, Gujarat, was completed at a capital expenditure of about $1 billion.

The platform was commissioned on March 29 and the gas was sent to the Hazira Plant. According to ONGC, the project was executed in less than two years from the date of award, marking a testament to the company's strong project execution capabilities. The company credits the successful completion of the project to the innovative use of the Drill-Deck and the exceptional performance of its drilling and production teams.

The commissioning of the DUDP Project marks the commencement of gas monetization from the project. ONGC has informed that production from all wells will be ramped up in a phased manner. This achievement assumes significance as the country aims to boost its domestic production in the face of rising geopolitical tensions that increasingly threaten India's energy supplies. India imports almost half of its natural gas needs.

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In related news, ONGC has been actively seeking to enhance its technical expertise for its oilfields in the western offshore. In January, the company floated a tender seeking bids from global players, including Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Chevron. The upstream major has set a target of 22 million tonnes of crude oil production for the fiscal year 2025-26 and expects a marginal increase in output for the next fiscal year.

ONGC's Future Plans

Going forward, ONGC will focus its efforts on exploration activities in the east coast, including the Mahanadi basin, KG basin, Cauvery, and the Andaman. The company has signed an agreement with Reliance Industries in January to enable resource sharing for deep-water offshore E&P operations on India's east coast, particularly across the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin and Andaman offshore, in an attempt towards cost optimization, faster execution, and improved asset utilization in complex deep-water projects.

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Note: The production targets for the fiscal year 2026-27 are expected to marginally increase from the previous year.