State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has struck gas in the Mahanadi basin, its first find under the government's Samudra Manthan exploration programme, Director (Exploration) OP Sinha told NDTV Profit's Tamanna Inamdar.
"Under Samudra Manthan, this well has struck gas... this is our first gas strike, which is very positive news," Sinha said. ONGC has previously discovered gas elsewhere in the Mahanadi basin, but this marks its first success since the scheme's rollout.
#ONGC strikes gas in the deep waters of Mahanadi Basin.
MDW-28, the maiden well of ONGC's current deepwater campaign in the Mahanadi Basin is flowing gas with encouraging rates and sustained reservoir pressure.
The campaign was launched on 25 July 2026 by Hon'ble Minister of… pic.twitter.com/whAV8TubIKAlso Read | Layoffs Are Rising In Tech, But These Skills Are Helping People Unlock Better Pay
— Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) (@ONGC_) September 21, 2026
The well, at a depth of 1,600 metres, has tested at close to 2.25 million cubic metres of gas a day, Sinha said, though testing is still underway and a final flow rate has not been confirmed. He added that deeper prospects, going down to around 3,000 metres in other basins, are also being explored as part of the same campaign.
Sinha said the Mahanadi basin holds an estimated 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent in resources, though converting that into confirmed reserves is "a continuous process." Two-three more wells are lined up in the current drilling campaign, building on 2D and 3D seismic surveys ONGC had already carried out across the basin's different channels.
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On why the find matters nationally, Sinha pointed to India's dependence on imported gas, currently around 50% of demand. The government is targeting an increase in gas's share of the country's energy mix to 15% by 2030, from roughly 6-7% now, and Sinha said the Mahanadi discovery would support that goal.
He was, however, cautious on investment numbers, calling it "too premature" to put a figure on the capital expenditure needed to develop the find until ONGC establishes the reservoir's extent and depth across both the shallower and deeper zones.
Asked whether ONGC would get a subsidy for the discovery, Sinha clarified that Samudra Manthan works as part-funding, not a subsidy. Under the scheme, the government offers budgetary support for seismic surveys, funds the drilling of wells (its largest component), and backs the development of common infrastructure shared across operators.
What Is Samudra Manthan?
Samudra Manthan is the government's National Offshore Exploration Scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet with a total outlay of Rs 84,084 crore to accelerate offshore oil and gas exploration, to be implemented until FY2030-31. It follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the National Deep Water Exploration Mission during his Independence Day address in 2025, and marks a shift from earlier exploration rounds, where companies bore the full risk alone. Under the scheme, the government provides financial support of up to 50% of the cost of deepwater exploration wells, capped at Rs 675 crore per well.
The programme covers the full offshore exploration chain, from large-scale seismic data acquisition and interpretation to deep-water and ultra-deep-water exploratory drilling, alongside common production and evacuation infrastructure meant to support commercially viable development in basins like Mahanadi and Kutch, where high infrastructure costs have historically delayed production. ONGC spudded its first deep-water exploratory well under the campaign in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin on July 25, 2026, part of a wider plan to drill 60 deepwater wells and unlock what the government estimates is more than 5,600 million tonnes of oil equivalent in hydrocarbon resources across India's eastern and western offshore basins.
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