Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with global petroleum giant ExxonMobil for Deepwater exploration on India's eastern and western coasts.
The HoA document was signed in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Wednesday (17 August) by Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, Director (Exploration), ONGC and Dr Monte K Dobson, CEO and Lead Country Manager, ExxonMobil India.
The collaboration areas focus on the Krishna Godavari and Cauvery Basins in the eastern offshore and the Kutch-Mumbai region in the western offshore.
"There has been a scientific exchange of exploration data in the last few years, which has led to this partnership. Collaboration between ONGC and ExxonMobil will be a strategic fit where ONGC's knowledge and past experience in these areas will be coupled with ExxonMobil's global insights," the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said.
The Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain said that this collaboration would boost India's confidence in going further ahead in deepwater exploration on the east coast, where the potential is quite significant.
ExxonMobil India's CEO said that 25 per cent of the ExxonMobil brain power is engaged in evaluating Indian deepwater and added that the company is geared up to take this collaboration to the next level.
"Through the discovery route, ONGC hopes to move to development wherein the inherent strength of ExxonMobil would be beneficial for efficient fast-track monetization. This will enable ONGC to ensure steps towards Energy Security for India," Director (Exploration) ONGC Shri Rajesh Kumar Srivastava said.