India Energy Security Boost: ONGC and bp Sign Major Deal for Western Offshore Basin

NEW DELHI, June 25: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and global energy giant bp have officially signed a blockbuster Technical Services Contract (TSC). Under the strategic agreement, bp has been appointed as the Technical Services Provider (TSP) for ONGC’s highly critical fields across the Western Offshore Basin.

The contract was executed in New Delhi in the presence of Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Pankaj Jain, Petroleum Secretary. The development marks a massive geographical expansion of the existing tech-partnership between the two companies, which initially kicked off with a focus strictly on Mumbai High in February 2025.

Unlocking India’s Hydrocarbon Bedrock

As India’s National Oil Company, ONGC remains the backbone of the country’s resource independence, single-handedly accounting for approximately 64% of domestic crude oil and natural gas production.

The Western Offshore Basin is ONGC’s most prolific asset:

• Asset Scope: It encompasses 43 distinct hydrocarbon-producing blocks.

• Historical Impact: The basin has continuously fueled India’s economic and commercial energy requirements for over four decades.

• The Challenge: As a mature hydrocarbon field, it requires modern structural interventions to combat natural resource depletion.

Under the strict terms of the service agreement, ONGC will retain 100% ownership and complete operational control of the assets. Rather than forming an equity joint venture, bp will integrate its expert engineering teams into ONGC’s multidisciplinary frameworks to target optimization across reservoirs, offshore wells, and physical production facilities.

Tailored Two-Tier Payment Structure

The commercial parameters of the contract are specifically designed to align financial incentives directly with production success, ensuring low-risk operational deployment for the state-run company

This structural risk-reward setup ensures that while bp brings its top-tier global technical expertise to the table, long-term major payouts are directly contingent upon achieving tangible net output gains.

Capitalizing on Mumbai High Success

The expansion comes on the heels of highly encouraging data gathered from the initial 2025 Mumbai High partnership. During the first year of that joint venture, ONGC and bp successfully arrested the field’s natural production decline and achieved notable output growth. This was accomplished through localized well optimization, enhanced digital surveillance, and strict technical facility management.

“Building on the encouraging outcomes at Mumbai High, this expanded collaboration will support improved recovery, greater efficiency and sustained production growth,” stated ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh.

bp India Chairman and Senior Vice President Kartikeya Dube echoed the sentiment, stating, “We look forward to bringing bp’s global expertise to support enhanced production from the Western Offshore Basin and strengthen India’s energy security.”