Reliance Industries signs pact with ONGC to share offshore resources

In a strategic move to boost offshore energy exploration and operational efficiency, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd have signed an agreement to share resources such as supply vessels used in finding and producing oil and gas.

The two firms signed an MoU for resource-sharing collaboration on the sidelines of India Energy Week (IEW), ONGC Director (Production) Pankaj Kumar said.

The pact aims to enhance operational efficiency, enable faster execution of offshore projects, and create stronger synergies between India's largest oil and gas producer and the nation's biggest and most valuable company who have adjacent fields and operations particularly off the east coast, he said.

 

It seeks to explore opportunities to jointly utilise resources, infrastructure, and technical capabilities across offshore energy activities so as to reduce duplication of efforts, optimise capital deployment, and support timely development of offshore assets, which are critical to meeting India's growing energy demand.

This the second collaboration between ONGC and Reliance in recent years.

ONGC, Reliance and BP in 2024 come together to bid for Block GS-OSHP-2022/2, a 5,454-sq-km offshore tract in the Saurashtra Basin in the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid round IX. The block, classified as a Category-II basin, holds significant exploratory potential, and the partners will jointly assess its hydrocarbon prospects.

Industry analysts say the agreement reflects a broader push by New Delhi to attract investment, share risks and strengthen energy security through collaborative exploration, particularly as offshore resources become increasingly vital to domestic supply.

ONGC and Reliance have adjacent oil and gas fields for which they hire resources like offshore supply vessels (OSV). Presently, when one firm hires a foreign-flagge OSV, it seeks approvals for operations of such vessels from multiple authorities, including ministries of defence and home affairs and director general of shipping.

These approvals take 45 days and are specific for operation in a particular area and during a specified duration. The other company has to seek all these approvals again for use of the same OSV after it is dehired by the first.

Kumar said since oil and gas operations of the two companies are complimentary, it makes more sense to share resources. The OSV should be able to move from one block or area to another without having to go through the time-consuming exercise of de-hiring and approvals.

"The idea is that if the OSV and its crew have got approvals from all authorities, it should be able to move from one area to another depending on requirement," he said.

Giving an example, he said an OSV that ONGC is using on its KG-DWN-98/2 block in the Krishna Godavari basin after finishing work for the company can move to the adjacent KG-DWN-98/3 block of Reliance-BP or vice versa.

After the MoU, the two companies will make a plea to the government for allowing use of any vessel that has received all necessary approvals anywhere in the Indian sedimentary basin.

The collaboration marks an important milestone in India's offshore energy journey, reflecting a shift toward cooperative models that balance efficiency with long-term strategic interests. Industry observers see this partnership as a practical approach to strengthening domestic energy production while improving resilience against global supply disruptions.