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Ladakh geothermal project hits a new milestone as ONGC drills second well
- IBJ Bureau
- Jul 13, 2026
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has completed drilling its second geothermal well in Ladakh’s Puga Valley.
The project marks yet another step towards developing India’s first pilot geothermal power plant.
The company’s research and development arm, ONGC Energy Centre, has drilled the well to a depth of 1,000 metres at an altitude of more than 14,000 feet in about a month.
The progress in the project will help reduce the timeline and cost of its first geothermal drilling campaign, ONGC has said in a social media post.
The latest well builds on the success of ONGC’s first geothermal well in Puga, which had produced steam at temperatures above the boiling point of water and demonstrated the area’s geothermal resource potential, the company has added.
ONGC has said that the second well will support the development of India’s first 1-megawatt electric (mwe) pilot geothermal power plant.
It may also pave the way for commercial exploitation of geothermal energy in the country.
The next phase of the project includes plans to set up a 1-mwe pilot geothermal power plant and the longer-term development of geothermal resources to provide reliable base-load electricity for Ladakh.
The Puga geothermal field, located in eastern Ladakh, is considered India’s most promising geothermal resource.
Geothermal energy harnesses heat from beneath the earth’s surface to generate electricity and provide heating.
It offers a source of round-the-clock, low-carbon power unlike solar and wind energy, whose output depends on weather conditions.
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