India’s government-owned energy giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has begun drilling the first deepwater well in Mahanadi Basin to unlock the country’s offshore hydrocarbon potential.
The MN-DW18-1-H-D offshore exploration well in the Mahanadi Basin was spudded virtually by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri , India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, from New Delhi on July 25, 2026. The well is being drilled approximately 23 nautical miles from Konark, off the Odisha coast.
Commenting on this, ONGC emphasized: “The commencement of drilling marks the beginning of one of India’s most challenging deepwater exploration campaigns.
“Every prospect evaluated, well drilled and discovery made will contribute towards enhancing domestic production, reducing import dependence and strengthening India’s energy security and self-reliance. The next frontier is deep waters. India is ready to explore it.”
The energy player claims that the spudding marks a major milestone under the government’s Samudra Manthan campaign and the beginning of an ambitious program to explore the country’s deep and ultra-deepwater energy resources. The Asian player’s recent Utkal and Konark offshore discoveries have strengthened the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Mahanadi Basin.
Recent exploration successes in the Cauvery, Mahanadi and Andaman basins have further reinforced the promise of India’s offshore frontier. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi advocated the harnessing of the country’s untapped offshore oil and gas potential in August 2025.
In response to this, the government opened nearly 1 million square kilometers of previously restricted offshore areas, creating new exploration opportunities through forthcoming OALP rounds.
India’s eastern and western offshore basins, extending to water depths of up to 3,000 meters, are estimated to hold over 5,600 million metric tons of oil equivalent (mmtoe) of hydrocarbon potential.
ONGC launched its flagship Deepwater Exploration Mission Centre, DeepX, in Mumbai in January 2026, integrating the firm’s geoscientific expertise, advanced interpretation capabilities, specialized training and strategic global collaborations under the ‘One Company, One Data’ philosophy.