ONGC, ExxonMobil tie up for oil exploration in India; plan to bid for OALP

Global energy major ExxonMobil and state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have tied up for oil exploration in India.  The two companies will jointly bid for the upcoming Open Acreage Licensing Policy rounds. 

The two oil majors signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday. This will enable them to to “undertake joint technical studies and cooperate in frontier areas like deepwater and other Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) blocks of ONGC in the East and West coast and open acreages for joint bidding”.

“A lot of foreign companies are showing faith in India and its move towards a gas-based economy. This includes big players like Total, Shell, and ExxonMobil,” said Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the CERAWeek in Delhi. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the CERAWeek in Delhi by ONGC Director (Exploration) R K Srivastava and ExxonMobil Chief Executive Officer-South Asia, William P Davis. 

The work under the MoU will be carried out in three phases. This will lead to a joint technical study for potential collaboration areas.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with ONGC and apply our collective expertise to be an even bigger part of India’s bright energy future,” said Michael Deal, vice-president-Asia Pacific, ExxonMobil.

On Monday, ExxonMobil had signed a pact with Indian Oil Corporation to expand its liquefied natural gas business initiatives in India.