Fossil Energy
India’s government-owned energy giant, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has made a new natural gas discovery in the deep waters of the Mahanadi Basin off the country’s east coast.
The find was made at MDW-28, the first well drilled under ONGC’s ongoing deep-water exploration programme in the basin.
The well has shown encouraging gas flow and steady reservoir pressure, suggesting the presence of a commercially promising gas-bearing structure.
In a statement issued on Monday, ONGC said that the well had been perforated on 18 September following a detailed analysis of geological and geophysical data. Soon after the operation began, gas started flowing at a good rate, supported by stable reservoir pressure.
The drilling campaign began on 25 July 2026 when the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, launched the operations by spudding the MDW-28 well, also known as MN-DW18-1-H-D, in the Mahanadi Basin offshore.
This exploration initiative is part of the government’s Samudra Manthan programme, which aims to accelerate offshore oil and gas exploration and production.
The company said that, together with other discoveries in the area, this find may be developed using shared infrastructure under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025.
This model could improve the economics of deep-water projects and enable quicker monetisation of offshore resources.
ONGC added that it remains focused on expanding exploration in deep-water and ultra-deep-water areas to identify new hydrocarbon reserves.
