BP wins major ONGC contract to revive offshore hydrocarbon assets
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has appointed the UK’s BP as a technical services provider to boost output from its western offshore oil and gas fields, expanding a partnership aimed at reviving production from India’s ageing hydrocarbon assets. In a statement, ONGC said BP Exploration Services India Limited was selected through an international competitive bidding process to enhance production across western offshore fields in the Mumbai Offshore Basin, excluding the flagship Mumbai High field.
ONGC had engaged BP in January last year for Mumbai High, India’s largest producing oil field, which accounts for about 38 percent of ONGC’s western offshore oil and oil-equivalent gas production. The company said preliminary results from the Mumbai High partnership showed moderation in production decline and improved output stability through better well, reservoir, and facility management, along with infrastructure de-bottlenecking and enhanced surveillance.
Under the expanded mandate, BP’s India unit will assess reservoir performance and identify operational improvements across mature offshore fields using global technologies and management practices.
ONGC said the engagement could increase crude oil production by about 10.8 percent over the 10-year contract period, raising output to 51.26 million tonnes from a baseline of 46.25 million tonnes. Natural gas production is projected to rise 31.5 percent to 108.69 billion cubic metres from 82.68 bcm.
Combined oil and oil-equivalent gas production from the western offshore fields is expected to rise about 24 percent to nearly 160 million tonnes of oil equivalent during the contract period, the company said. The increase in production is expected to begin from fiscal year 2027, with full-scale impact visible from FY30.
Under the agreement, the technical services provider will receive a fixed fee for the first two years, followed by a share of revenue generated from incremental hydrocarbon production after cost recovery. Separately, BP said it “can confirm that it has been selected by ONGC as TSP for Western Offshore fields (excluding Mumbai High)”. “We are grateful to ONGC for once again reaffirming their trust in us and look forward to supporting an enhanced production from these fields,” it added.
ONGC, which accounts for about 75 percent of India’s domestic crude oil and natural gas production, said the partnership aims to unlock additional output from mature offshore assets while supporting India’s energy security goals amid rising demand. Mumbai Offshore Basin is ONGC’s most prolific hydrocarbon-producing basin. The basin comprises 43 blocks, of which 28 blocks, including Mumbai High and the giant Bassein gas field, were given to it on a nomination basis.
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