Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with global petroleum giant ExxonMobil on Wednesday for deepwater exploration in the east and the west coasts of India. 

The HoA document was signed in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas by Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, the director (exploration), ONGC, and Monte K Dobson, the CEO & Lead Country Manager, ExxonMobil India, in the presence of Pankaj Jain, the secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. 

“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," ONGC said in a statement. 

Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain said, “Partnerships between a national oil company like ONGC and an international oil company like ExxonMobil will bring tangible benefits in the entire energy value chain and open new vistas to exploration and production paradigm. This collaboration will boost our confidence in going further ahead in deepwater exploration in the east coast of India where the potential is quite significant.” 

ONGC Director (Exploration) Rajesh Kumar Srivastava said, “With this strategic collaboration to pursue exploration, I look forward to long lasting partnership. Through the discovery route, ONGC hopes to move to development wherein the inherent strength of ExxonMobil would be beneficial for efficient fast-track monetisation. This will enable ONGC to ensure steps towards energy security for India.” 

ExxonMobil India’s CEO & Lead Country Manager Monte K Dobson said, “It’s an exciting opportunity to collaborate with ONGC. Great things happen when the right people collaborate.”