Industry Odisha Bureau, Sept 22: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered gas in a deepwater well off the Odisha coast in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin. Further tests, however, are required before a decision on the commercial production can be made.
The discovery was made on September 18 at the MN-DW18-1-H-D well, located around 43 km from Konark. The well was drilled under ONGC’s Samudra Manthan deepwater exploration campaign. Notably, it is the company’s first well in the Mahanadi Basin under the initiative.
The well was drilled to target a depth of 1,623 metres. Gas bearing zones were found between 1,441 and 1,452 metres. ONGC said the well has been flowing gas for three days and has shown encouraging flow and reservoir pressure.
The well was spudded on July 25 using the drillship Platinum Explorer. While the initial results are positive, ONGC said further appraisal and commercial evaluation will be required to determine the quality of the reservoir and the amount of recoverable gas.
The discovery’s location relatively close to the Odisha coast could support development if the reserves are found to be commercially viable. ONGC said the find could potentially be developed along with other discoveries in the area using shared infrastructure.
The company said the Petroleum and Natural Gas rules, 2025, provide a framework for bringing deepwater resources in the region into production through shared facilities.
Notably, the next steps would include detailed reservoir appraisal, estimation of recoverable resources and assessment of commercial viability.
#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 Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri @HardeepSPuri, with the spudding of MDW-28 (MN-DW18-1-H-D) in the deep offshore Mahanadi Basin, aligned with the Government’s Samudra Manthan initiative.
The well was perforated on 18 September 2026 following evaluation of subsurface data. It is currently flowing with a good gas rate and healthy reservoir pressure. During operations, ONGC @ChairmanONGC @singharunongc, Director (Technology & Field Services) @vikramsONGC, and Director (Exploration) @opsinhaONGC visited the drillship to interact with and encourage the crew onboard. This find, along with other discoveries in the area, can be a candidate for development through shared facilities enabled by the PNG Rules, 2025, bringing deepwater resources onstream.
ONGC will continue to push into deep and ultra-deepwater frontiers in the search for hydrocarbons, and towards India’s goal of energy security.
Hopefully, a new chapter in India’s energy frontier.
#SamudraManthan #MoPNG #EnergySecurity
#YouAreEnergy #EnergyNowAndNext@PMOIndia | @narendramodi | @PetroleumMin | @HardeepSPuri | @OfficeofHSP | @TheSureshGopi | @Secretary_MoPNG | @neerajmittalias
— Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) (@ONGC_) September 21, 2026
