OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORP.

Maharatna Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), established on June 23, 1993 is the largest crude oil and natural gas Company in India, contributing around 63% to Indian domestic production. Crude oil is the raw material used by downstream companies like IOC, BPCL, and HPCL (subsidiary of ONGC) to produce petroleum products like Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene, Naphtha, and Cooking Gas-LPG. The Government of India (GoI) held 58.89% stake in ONGC as on 31 March, 2024. The Company is engaged in exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and value added products. This largest natural gas company ranks 11th among global energy majors (Platts). It is the only public sector Indian company to feature in Fortune's Most Admired Energy Companies' list. ONGC ranks 18th in Oil and Gas operations' and 220 overall in Forbes Global 2000. ONGC's wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm ONGC Videsh is India's largest international oil and gas E&P Company with 39 projects in 18 countries including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, Vietnam, New Zealand and Namibia. ONGC Videsh is currently producing about 285,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day and has total oil and gas reserves (2P) of about 704 mmtoe as on 1 April 2017. ONGC was set up under the visionary leadership of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Pandit Nehru reposed faith in Shri Keshav Dev Malviya who laid the foundation of ONGC in the form of Oil and Gas division, under Geological Survey of India, in 1955. A few months later, it was converted into an Oil and Natural Gas Directorate. The Directorate was converted into Commission and christened Oil & Natural Gas Commission on 14 August 1956. In 1994, Oil and Natural Gas Commission was converted in to a Corporation, and in 1997 it was recognized as one of the Navratnas by the Government of India. Subsequently, it was conferred with Maharatna status in the year 2010. On 28 March 2003, ONGC acquired the entire shareholding of A.V. Birla Group in Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and further infused equity capital of Rs 600 crore thus making MRPL a majority held subsidiary of ONGC. Before acquisition by ONGC in March 2003, MRPL was a joint venture oil refinery promoted by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a public sector company, and IRIL & associates (AV Birla Group). During March 1999, ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) agreed to have cross holding in each other's stock to pave the way for Long-term strategic alliance amongst themselves for the domestic and overseas business opportunities in the energy value chain. The ONGIO International Pvt Ltd was incorporated in the year 2001 as 50:50 joint venture projects with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd with aim of providing Training, Consultancy & Services in Hydrocarbon Sector and later company has decided to wind up ONGIO due to loss. During 2001-02 the augment recovery from onshore fields of 13 projects 2 were resourcefully commissioned. By the end of the same year 2001-02 the company 's subsidiary unit ONGC Videsh Ltd commenced its commercial production of gas. In the year of 2004, ONGC initiated Phase-I of a collaborative project on CBM in Jharia Field and successfully completed the same in 2005. During 2004-05 the company discovered its third deep-water exploration campaign 'Sagar Samriddhi' in Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin at the location Vashistha (VA-1A) in block KG-OS-DW-IV. In the western offshore a shallow-water oil and gas was recorded in D-33, about 60 Kilometers South-West of Mumbai High, Onshore. Oil and Gas was found in Tiphuk-1 in North Assam Shelf and Oil was struck at Wamaj in Cambay Basin. Offshore, four new Platforms (2 Well Platforms, 1 Process Platforms and 1 Clamp-on) were commissioned for enhancing production. In March 2005, ONGC launched its retail marketing business with commissioning of its first auto fuel outlet at Manglore under the brand 'ONGC Values' and 'Shopp'njoy' for fuel and non-fuel business respectively. The company also received approval/license from the Government for marketing of non-subsidised LPG cooking gas, Kerosene and Aviation refueling sales. Tripura Power Development Company Pvt Ltd (TPDCL) was incorporated to set up a gas-based power-generating project in Tripura. TPDCL was later renamed as ONGC Tripura Power Company Pvt Ltd. In the same year the company entered into various alliances in form of execution of Memorandum of Understanding with Kakinada Seaport & IL&FS with 26% equity stake for development of Port based SEZ at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. During the year 2006 the company was awarded 60 out of 110 exploration blocks by the Government in the five NELP rounds. In December 2009, the company entered into two broad enabling agreements with Iranian authorities for participation in development of gas fields and liquefaction facilities in Iran, in return for assured minimum 6 million tonne LNG per annum on long term basis. Also, ONGC Videsh entered into a non exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the possibilities of jointly studying and if mutually agreed, to participate in attractive oil and gas assets in Russia and third countries. In June 2010, Stealth Ventures Ltd entered into a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) with the company to evaluate emerging Unconventional Resource plays and opportunities in India. The objective of the JSA is to identify the unconventional resource plays within India, and a high priority has been given by both parties, to identify high growth profile shale gas and CBM prospects, on the basis of the large database available within ONGC. In December 2010, the company's subsidiary, ONGC Videsh Ltd signed a Framework Agreement on Cooperation in Hydrocarbon Sector in Delhi with Sistema, a public financial corporation in Russia and CIS. On 3 January 2011, the managements of ONGC and GAIL (India) reached a landmark understanding for mutual business growth covering natural gas as well as petrochemicals. As regards the understanding reached for gas business, both companies would work together for exclusive sale of natural gas produced by ONGC from its various fields to GAIL during next 3 years. This joint initiative will serve as a catalyst for effective monetization of gas from future E&P fields of ONGC, with GAIL providing the infrastructure and marketing tie-up for supply to potential customers. The two companies also reached an understanding in swapping gas available to both the companies so as to optimise the logistics and costs. As regards the understanding reached for the petrochemicals business, GAIL has formally agreed to become a co-promoter of 1.1 MMTPA Ethylene Cracker Petrochemical complex, under implementation in Dahej SEZ area at a capital investment of Rs19535 crore. ONGC is implanting this mega projects through its unit ONGC Petro additions Ltd (OPaL). An understanding was also reached for marketing of a portion of petrochemical products of OPaL by GAIL. GAIL and ONGC would also explore the possibility of setting up a downstream unit using Butadiene, a by-product of OPaL, to GAIL for manufacture of value-added products. On 21 January 2011, ONGC activated its emergency response measures immediately on detection of a leakage at its Mumbai Uran Trunk (MUT) oil pipeline. ONGC created an exploration landmark when gas flowed out from the Barren Measure shale at a depth of around 1700 m., in its first R & D well RNSG-1 near Durgapur at Icchapur, West Bengal on 25 January 2011. Shale gas is one of the predominant unconventional natural gas and major source of onland gas particularly in US and Canada. While noting two impressive discoveries (Exploratory Well B-127E-1 in Panna Formation to the east of B-127 area and North Kadi-472 (NKXV) in the Mandhali member of Kadi formation), ONGC's Board of Directors at its 225th Board Meeting held on 1 December 2011 also approved the integrated development of B-127 cluster along with the Additional Development of B-55 field. B-127 cluster comprises of three marginal fields namely; B-127, B-157 and B-59. The cluster is located east of Mumbai High with significant hydrocarbon accumulations in multi-layered reservoirs within Bassein and Panna formations. The estimated capital expenditure for the integrated development of B-127 cluster with additional development of B-55 field was pegged at Rs 2059.63 crore. A landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for hydrocarbon cooperation was signed between ONGC and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on 18 June 2012. Under the MoU, the two oil giants agreed to foster their cooperation either directly or through their subsidiaries by expanding cooperation in upstream E&P areas, refining or processing of crude oil and natural gas in midstream or downstream projects, marketing and distribution of petroleum products and construction and operation of oil and gas pipelines. The areas of cooperation between ONGC and CNPC will also extend to joint participation in suitable hydrocarbon projects in other countries of interest by exchanging information and working for mutual growth and benefit by extending cooperation in hydrocarbon sectors globally. On 29 June 2012, ONGC announced that the United Nations body on Climate Change has issued a massive kitty of 121,207 carbon credits to ONGC's 51 megawatt wind power project at Bhuj (Gujarat) on 7 June 2012. On 11 August 2012, ONGC announced that it had struck third largest reservoir in Western Offshore. On 8 September 2012, ONGC Videsh signed definitive agreements for the acquisition of Hess Corporation's 2.7213% participating interest in the Azeri, Chirag and the Deep Water Portion of Guneshli Fields in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea (ACG) and 2.36% interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline (BTC), for US$ 1 Billion. On 5 November 2012, ONGC announced that Japan's largest oil company INPEX CORPORATION (INPEX) has acquired a 26% participating interest farmed-out by ONGC in the exploration block KG-DWN-2004/6, located in the deep waters of Krishna Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal. ONGC continues as operator of the block with a 34% participating interest in consortium with existing partners GAIL (India) Limited (10%), Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited (10%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (10%) and Oil India Limited (10%). On 18 March 2013, ONGC with its consortium partners BPCL and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui signed a Memorandum of Understanding with New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) for setting up a Re-gasification LNG terminal at New Mangalore Port. The consortium will carry out a feasibility study for a terminal of 2-3 MMTPA capacity, expandable to 5 MMTPA. The Board of Directors of ONGC at its 241st meeting held on 20 March 2013 took note of three significant hydrocarbon discoveries and also accorded approval for investment of over Rs 4050 crore to upgrade western offshore facilities on the Arabian Sea through two major projects. On 1 April 2013, ONGC Videsh announced the completion of acquisition of Hess Corporation's 2.7213% participating interest in the Azeri, Chirag and the Deep Water Portion of Guneshli Fields (ACG) in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea and 2.36% interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline (BTC). Earlier, on 7 September 2012, ONGC Videsh and Hess had entered into definitive agreements and subsequently all relevant government and regulatory approvals were received. On 9 April 2013, ONGC inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. (CFCL) and the state government of Tripura for setting up a urea fertilizer project in Tripura. On 28 July 2013, ONGC announced that it has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to explore the possibility of sharing the latter's infrastructural facility in the East Coast. On 14 October 2013, ONGC Videsh announced that the company through its affiliates signed definitive agreements to acquire additional 12% Participating Interest (PI) in Block BC-10, Campos Basin, Deep Offshore Brazil as part of the sale of 35% share made by Petrobras. ONGC Videsh had earlier acquired 15% PI in the block in 2006. On 20 November 2013, ONGC Videsh announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Petrovietnam (PVN) to promote the joint cooperation in hydrocarbon sector in Vietnam, India and other countries. On 31 December 2013, ONGC Videsh announced that the company through its affiliates has acquired an additional 12% Participating Interest (PI) in Block BC-10, a deepwater offshore block in Campos Basin, Brazil taking its total PI in the block to 27%. Shell, the operator of the block, holds the balance 73% PI in the block. On 12 February 2014, ONGC Videsh announced that it has entered into separate agreements with two consortiums of international banks to raise USD 2.5 billion by way of offshore borrowings to finance its acquisition of 10% participating interest in Rovuma Area I Block in Mozambique offshore.ONGC Videsh (OVL) signed Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for two shallow water exploration blocks SS-09 & SS-04 in the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh on 17 February 2014. OVL along with Oil India Limited (OIL) formed a consortium (50:50) and participated in the Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round 2012, launched by Bangladesh Government during December 2012. OVL/OIL consortium was officially notified as the winner of two shallow water blocks SS-09 & SS-04 on 20 August 2013. On 28 February 2014, ONGC Videsh (OVL) announced that it had completed the acquisition of 10% participating interest (PI) in the Rovuma Area 1 offshore Block in Mozambique from Anadarko Mo ambique Area 1 Limitada (Anadarko). On the 24 August 2013, OVL signed definitive agreements with Anadarko to acquire this interest.On 14 March 2014, ONGC announced that it has acquired Government of India's (GoI) 5% stake in Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) pursuant to a decision by GoI to divest a total 10% stake in IOCL to ONGC and Oil India. ONGC paid a total consideration of Rs 2670.74 crore for acquiring 12.13 crore IOCL shares at Rs 220 per share. The Board of Directors of ONGC at its 254th meeting held on 24 March 2014 accorded approval for additional development of its Vasai East Field in Arabian Sea at a total estimated capital cost of Rs 2476.82 crore.. On 27 June 2014, ONGC announced that its Board of Directors approved the proposal for redevelopment of its giant offshore field - Mumbai High (North) involving a capital investment of Rs 5706.47 crore, including foreign exchange component of Rs 4421.76 Crore (USD 743.15 Million at exchange rate of Rs. 59.50/USD). On 8 July 2014, ONGC Videsh announced that it had priced US$ 1.5 Billion and Euro 525 million unsecured bonds in the international capital markets. It was the maiden offering by ONGC Videsh in the Euro bond markets. The offering was oversubscribed approximately 4.5 times in USD and 3.6 times in Euro. ONGC Videsh signed Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for two onland exploration blocks B-2 & EP-3 in Myanmar on 8 August 2014. ONGC Videsh participated in the Myanmar Onland Bidding Round 2013, launched by Myanmar Government during January 2013 and was awarded two onshore blocks namely B2 and EP-3 on 10 October 2013. On 28 August 2014, ONGC announced that it would invest Rs 5219 crore towards Daman Development project to enhance production of natural gas and condensate in its Tapti Daman Block in Arabian Sea. The investment decision was approved by the ONGC Board at its 260th neeting. The project is located about 90-100 Km from Daman coast and includes additional development of C-24 field and monetization of B-12 marginal fields (B-12-11, B-12-13 and B-12-15).ONGC Videsh and YPF S.A., the major oil producing company of Argentina, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 1 September 2014 to cooperate in the hydrocarbon sector. Under the MOU, the two companies will analyse the opportunities for cooperation in upstream sector in Argentina, India and third countries. The MOU also envisages collaboration in the areas of research & development and human resources. ONGC Videsh and Pemex-Exploracion Y Produccion (PEP), the upstream subsidiary of Pemex, the national oil company of Mexico, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation (MOU) on 25 September 2014 to cooperate in the hydrocarbon sector in Mexico. Under the MOU, the two companies plan to discuss future cooperation and collaboration in the upstream sector in Mexico. The MOU also envisages cooperation in the fields of technology, human resources, research & development. On 28 October 2014, ONGC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd. (PVEP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam), for mutual cooperation for exploration in the NELP Blocks of ONGC in Andaman and Cauvery basins, subject to due diligence and negotiations on terms of participation. Simultaneously, ONGC Videsh signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with PVEP for mutual cooperation for exploration in Blocks 102/10 & 106/10 of PVEP and Block 128 of ONGC Videsh in offshore Vietnam, subject to due diligence and negotiations on terms of participation. The Board of Directors of ONGC at its meeting held on 14 November 2014 approved two major investment decisions valued over Rs 10600 crore for further enhancing production from its Western Offshore fields. The projects are- Redevelopment (Phase-III) of its giant offshore field - Mumbai High (South) involving a capital investment of Rs 6069 crore and Integrated Development of Mukta, Bassein and Panna Formations at an estimated capex of Rs 4620 crore. On 10 December 2014, ONGC Videsh announced that it has won an Exploration Block- 14TAR-R1 in the Taranaki offshore basin in New Zealand in the Bidding Round Block Offer-2014 by the Government of New Zealand. The bidding round was launched in April 2014 offering five offshore and three onshore release areas for competitive bidding. On 13 December 2014, ONGC notified three hydrocarbon discoveries; one in deepwater Krishna Godavari Basin, off the east coast of the country, one in Mumbai offshore Basin, off the west coast of the country and one in Cauvery basin in the southern onland part of the country. On 13 February 2015, ONGC Videsh announced that its flagship project Sakhalin 1' in Far East Russia added another feather to its crown by commencing oil production from Arkutun Dagi, the third and final field being developed as part of the larger Sakhalin 1 project. The Arkutun-Dagi oil and gas field is located 25 km offshore Sakhalin Island in water depths ranging from 15 to 40 m. Crude oil production from ONGC's Western Offshore Fields touched 325,000 barrels oil per day (BOPD) on 3 March 2015. This was the highest production from Mumbai Offshore in five year period. On 1 April 2015, ONGC, IL&FS Energy Development Company Limited (IEDCL) and the state government of Tripura, thee three promoters of ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd (OTPC), entered into definitive agreements with India Infrastructure Fund II by which the latter will be acquiring 23.5% stake in OTPC. The total consideration of the transaction is about Rs 426 crore. Post this transaction, the shareholding in OTPC will stand as: ONGC - 50%, IEDCL - 26%, Tripura state government 0.5% and India Infrastructure Fund II- 23.5%. This consummates the equity structure as was envisaged at the time of setting up the project. OTPC has been promoted by ONGC, IEDCL and the state government of Tripura for implementation of a gas based 726.6 MW combined cycle thermal power project at Palatana, Tripura. The project was conceived to utilize the stranded gas reserves of ONGC found in the state of Tripura so as to aid in the economic progress of the north-eastern (NE) states. The project is backed by a long term gas supply agreement with ONGC, while the power off-take is tied up on long term basis with the 7 north-eastern states. ONGC mobilized its Crisis Management Team (CMT) and all resources at its command to control the fire which broke out around 12.30 PM on 18 April 2015 in an onshore well in Olpad area 80 km away from Ankleshwar, during repair and maintenance job. On 29 April 2015, ONGC announced that it made two hydrocarbon discoveries in April 2015. ONGC notified four hydrocarbon discoveries in Q4 March 2015, taking the total number of discoveries in the fiscal year 2014-15 to 22. The Board of Directors of ONGC at its meting held on 28 May 2015 approved investment of Rs 1881.22 crore for redevelopment of Gamij field under Stage Gate Process at Ahmedabad Asset. Gamij field, located in east of Ahmedabad city, is the first Onshore field being developed under Stage Gate Process. The project cost includes drilling of 280 wells and creation of surface facilities like Group Gathering Stations. Drilling program of well STP-1 at Satpayev block in Kazakhstan was formally launched on 7 July 2015. ONGC Videsh had acquired 25% stake in 2011 in the Satpayev Offshore block in Kazakhstan. The Board of Directors of ONGC at its 280th meeting held on 28 March 2016 approved the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the development of fields falling under Cluster 2 of the Deep-water NELP Block KG-DWN-98/2. The development would involve a capital expenditure of USD 5,076.37 million (equivalent to Rs 34012 crore). The project envisages first gas to be produced by June 2019, first oil by March 2020, with overall completion in June 2020.11 On 4 September 2015, ONGC Videsh announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire up to 15% shares in CSJC Vankorneft, a company organized under the law of Russian Federation which is the owner of Vankor Field and NorthVankor license. Rosneft Oil Company, NOC of Russia holds 100% shares in Vankorneft. Vankor is Rosneft's (and Russia's) second largest field by production and accounts for 4% of Russian production. The daily production from the field is around 442,000 bpd of crude oil on an average with ONGC Videsh's share of daily oil production at about 66,000 bpd. On 22 July 2016, ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd. (OVVL), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of ONGC Videsh Limited, which itself is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of ONGC announced that it had successfully raised US$ 1 billion Notes comprising of US$ 400 million Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022 and US$ 600 million Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026 in the international capital markets. ONGC's Daman development project went live with the commencement of natural gas production from its first well C24-P4#3 on 20 August 2016. On 14 September 2016, ONGC Videsh and its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd., Singapore (OVVL), jointly signed definitive agreements with Rosneft, the national oil company of Russia, for acquiring additional 11% shares in JSC Vankorneft, a company organized under the law of Russian Federation which is the owner of Vankor Field and North Vankor license. After the closing of the transaction, ONGC Videsh will raise its participation share in Vankorneft to 26%. Earlier, ONGC Videsh had successfully closed the acquisition of 15% shareholding interest on 31 May 2016. Vankor is Rosneft's (and Russia's) second largest field by production and accounts for 4% of Russian production. The daily production from the field is around 421,000 bpd of crude oil on an average and together with earlier acquisition of 15%, ONGC Videsh's share of daily oil production from Vankor will be about 110,000 bpd. On 7 December 2016, ONGC signed agreements with Schlumberger Overseas S.A. and Halliburton Offshore Services Inc for enhancement of production from its matured fields of Geleki in Assam and Kalol in Gujarat, respectively.On 24 December 2016, the Board of Directors of ONGC approved the acquisition of the entire 80% Participating Interest (PI) of GSPC along with operatorship rights in NELP-III Block KG-OSN-2001/3 (Block) in Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin offshore. ONGC will pay purchase consideration of US$ 995.26 million for the Deen Dayal West Field in the Block. ONGC will additionally pay part consideration of US$ 200 million to GSPC towards future consideration for six discoveries other than Deen Dayal West Field, which will be adjusted upon valuation of these discoveries subsequent to approval of the Field Development Plans by DGH/Management Committee of the Block.At its 290th Board meeting held on 23 February 2017, ONGC Board approved development of five projects with an aggregate investment of Rs 7327 crore which will lead to production of 14.969 MMT of oil and 2.972 BCM of gas. On 7 March 2017, ONGC Petro additions Ltd's (OPaL) petrochemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat was dedicated to the nation by India's Prime Minister. OPaL is a joint venture company promoted by ONGC, GAIL and GSPC, implementing a grass root integrated petrochemical complex located in Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) at Dahej, Gujarat. The company was incorporated on 15 November 2006.On 5 May 2017, ONGC Videsh announced that it has encountered exciting result in its well Mariposa-1 which is under drilling in CPO-5 block of Colombia. ONGC Videsh is the operator of the block and holds 70% participating interest and Amerisur Resources holds the remaining 30%.On 29 April 2017, ONGC announced that it made 23 hydrocarbon discoveries in the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY 2017) compared with 17 discoveries in the year ended 31 March 2016 FY 2016. Out of 23 discoveries, 13 discoveries were made onland and 10 in offshore. Out of 13 onland discoveries, 9 were monetized during the year itself having a potential of 0.218 MMTOE per year. On 14 September 2017, ONGC Videsh announced that the Consortium partners of the giant ACG Fields in Azerbaijan have entered into an agreement with Azerbaijan Government and State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) for extension of duration of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for Azeri-Chirag-Deep water portion of Gunashli (ACG) oil fields until 31 December 2049. ONGC Videsh holds a participating interest in ACG oil fields in the Azerbaijan Sector of Caspian Sea. The agreement is subject to ratification by the Parliament (Milli Majlis) of the Republic of Azerbaijan.On 5 October 2017, ONGC Videsh announced that it has completed the acquisition of 30% Participating Interest in Namibia Petroleum Exploration License 0037 for Blocks 2112A, 2012B and 2113B and related agreements (License), Offshore Namibia from Tullow Namibia Limited (Tullow), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tullow Oil plc.ONGC Videsh through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd. (OVVL) signed definitive binding agreements with Tullow Namibia Limited (Tullow), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tullow Oil plc, on 20 November 2017 for acquiring 15% participating interest in Namibia Petroleum Exploration License 0030 for Block 2012A and related agreements (License) from Tullow's existing participating interest of 25% in the License. Eco Oil and Gas Namibia (Pty) Ltd. with 32.5% Participating interest, Azimuth Namibia Limited with 32.5% participating interest and National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Pty) Ltd with 10% participating interest are other partners in the License. The License is currently under First Renewal Exploration Period and the joint venture partners are carrying out data evaluation for identifying a drill prospect. In a major development, ONGC's Board of Directors at its meeting held on 19 January 2018 considered the proposal and approved acquisition of Government of India's (GoI) entire 51.11% shareholding in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) at a cash purchase consideration of Rs 473.97 per share with a total acquisition cost of Rs 36915 crore. On 20 January 2018, ONGC entered into a share purchase agreement with GoI for the acquisition of 51.11% of HPCL which has a strong presence in refining and marketing of petroleum products in the country.On 12 February 2018, ONGC announced that an Indian consortium led by its wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm ONGC Videsh, BPRL & IOCL have signed a pact for acquisition of 10% participating interest in the ADNOC Group owned offshore Lower Zakum Concession for 40 years from 2018 to 2057. This is the first time that Indian oil & gas companies have been given a stake in the development of Abu Dhabi's hydrocarbon resources. Sixty percent of the participating interest will be retained by ADNOC and the rest will be awarded to other international oil companies. Lower Zakum is one of three separate offshore concession areas that were formerly part of the ADMA offshore concession. The company holds the largest exploration acreage in India as an operator. As on 31.03.2019, ONGC holds a total of 9 Nomination PEL blocks (36853.55 Km2 ), 345 Nomination PML blocks (55802.41 Km2 ) and 1 Pre-NELP blocks (892.0 Km2 ). In NELP regime, your company has 25 PEL covering an area of 22534.29 Km2 . It also holds 9 PMLs (Area: 1265.47 Km2 including 5 PMLs in Gujarat, 1 PML in Andhra Pradesh, 2 in Shallow water and 1 deep-water PML,) carved out from NELP blocks. Besides, ONGC as non-operator has PI in 2 blocks (Area: 567.00 Km2 ) as Non-operator Exploration acreages (blocks). In addition, ONGC also holds 2 blocks as Operator under OALP-I round covering an area of 1456 Km2 . Also as non-operator, it has 3 acreages covering an area of 1558 Km2 . During the year 2018-19, your Company has made 13 discoveries (5 in NELP, 7 in Nomination acreages). Of these, 6 are new prospects and 7 are new pool discoveries. As on 01.04.2019, accretion to In-Place Hydrocarbons (3P-Proved, Probable and Possible), from the Company operated fields in India, stood at 137.05 MMtoe, out of which about 70 per cent accretion has been due to exploratory efforts. Total in-place reserve accretion during 2018-19 in domestic basins, including the Company's share in PSC JVs, stands at 157.30 MMtoe (20.25 MMtoe from JVs). During the fiscal 2019, the company has been ranked 197 in the coveted Fortune Global 500 list. This ranking has come on the back of robust fiscal and physical performance in FY2018. The Company has been ranked fifth globally in the mining and crude oil production' industry category. The company maintained its First Position globally in the industry category 'Oil and Gas Exploration and Production' and achieved overall ranking of 21st position in the Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings-2018. The company has been adjudged the winner in the 'Oil and Gas Exploration' category of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Awards 2018. The company has been conferred with INFRA Icon Award in the 'Global Energy' category at the midday INFRA Icons Awards 2018. The Company in recognition of its efforts for promoting Oil & Gas Conservation during 'Saksham 2018' was honoured with the award for best overall performance in the 'Upstream Sector' at the inaugural function of 'Sanrakhsan Kshamta Mahotsav-2019' (Saksham-2019). Uran Processing Plant of the company was adjudged the BBS Award Winner in Petrochemical categoryat the Third Annual National Conference 2019 on BBS, New Delhi. The company spent Rs 2,94,498 million for various Capex initiatives in the FY2019. The Board of Directors of the company, at the 312th meeting held on 20 December 2018 approved the proposal for buy-back of equity shares of the Company upto 252,955,974 fully paid-up equity shares at the price of Rs 159/- per equity share payable in cash for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 40,220 million. The buy-back offer worked out to 2.50% of the net-worth of the Company as on 31 March 2017 and 2.34% as on 31 March 2018. The Company has completed the buy-back of 252,955,974 fully paid-up equity shares on 22 February 2019. As on 31.03.2020, ONGC holds a total of 7 Nomination PEL blocks (5106.05 Km2 ), 358 Nomination PML blocks (Long Term: 327 and Short Term (7 year): 31) having an acreage area of 54,321.75 Km2 and 1 Pre-NELP block (892.0 Km2 ). In NELP regime, your company has 23 active NELP blocks comprising 21,126.17 Km2 of PEL area and 10 PMLs carved out from NELP blocks with an acreage area of 1380.78 Km2 (5 PMLs in Gujarat, 1 PML in Andhra Pradesh, 3 in shallow water and 1 deep-water PML). Besides, ONGC as non-operator has participative interest (PI) in 2 blocks having acreages area of 567.00 Km2. In addition, ONGC also holds 17 OALP blocks (13 on-land, 3 shallow water and 1 deep-water areas) covering an area of 33,572.73 Km2 awarded till the end of OALP-IV bidding round. Also as non-operator, it has 3 OALP acreages covering an area of 1558 Km2 . In DSF-II round, your company was also awarded 5 contract areas with PML acreage area of 946.81 Km2. During the year 2019-20, your Company has notified 12 discoveries (7 New Prospects and 5 New Pools) in its nomination acreages. During FY2020, 3 major projects (MHNRD PhaseIV, HRP-III, PRP-VI) with an investment of Rs 64,874 Million and envisaged oil and gas gain of 13.62 MMTOE were approved. As on 01.04.2020, 17 major projects were under implementation with envisaged gain of about 121 MMTOE. We also realize the need to maximize recovery from our existing legacy fields. We envisage a cumulative gain of over 200 MMT of oil from the 31 approved Increased Oil Recovery (IOR)/Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) schemes. During the FY'22, the Company completed two major projects, Ratna R Series which costed Rs. 35,270.54 million on May 31, 2021 and Geleki Pipeline costing Rs. 2,800.59 million on November 30, 2021 with a total investment of around Rs. 38,071.13 million. Out of four new discoveries made during the financial year 2021-22, two on-land discoveries viz. South Velpuru-2 and Gopavaram Deep-1 (GMD-AA) were monetized. Besides, 4 other discoveries of previous years i.e. B-59-1, WO-24-3, D-30/ D-30-2 (D-30-A) and GS-71-2 were also monetized. ONGC executed a Pilot polymer flood project in heavy oil field of Mehsana, which was completed on 15 September 2020 and was successful in achieving all its objectives. The incremental gain is 5,057 m3 in 13 Months and the closure report was approved by DGH on 8 November 2021. The Company drilled 434 wells during FY'22, of which 78 of these wells were exploratory wells, while the balance 356 wells were development wells including side-track wells. Drilling Rig IPS-M700-II of Ahmedabad Asset created a new milestone and completed well AMLO(TD-1622m) with a commercial speed of 8224 M/RM, highest ever by any drilling rig of ONGC since inception. The Company implemented Casing While Drilling (CWD) in 5 wells of Mumbai to mitigate the issues of drilling for 20' casing after 30' conductor piling. It tested two Ultra Deep wells in water depth of more than 2800m - UD-AF (Qgas-765,625 m3/d thru 26/64' choke) & UD-AG (Qgas-742,634 m3/d thru 28/64' choke) in Cluster-III of KGDWN-98/2 Block in East Coast. It completed two gas wells U-1-B (WD 1407m) & U-1-AShift (WD 1250m). Production from U-1-B commenced from 27 Aug'21. As a part of concerted excploration efforts for Basement Play, a total of 12 wells were drilled , which included 3 wells (BH-80, SD15 & HR-1) in Mumbai Offshore, 2 wells (Charali-53 & Borhola-67) in Assam Shelf and 7 wells (Padra-150, Padra-152, Padra-155, Padra-158, Padra-161, Padra-163 and CBONH182A-1) in WON Basin. Out of these, five wells (Padra-152, Padra-158, Padra-161, BH80, HR-1) proved oil bearing and one well (SD-15) proved gas bearing. In addition, six wells drilled during FY'21 (2 in WON Basin, 4 in Mumbai Offshore) were tested during the year. Out of these, well Padra-146 (WON Basin) proved to be oil bearing in Basement section (Trap) and HC indications were observed in wells BH-81 & BH-82 (Mumbai Offshore) in Basement section. During year 2022, ONGC had signed an MoU with initial validity of five years on 02 March, 2021 with Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), Moscow for Collaborative Studies to establish cooperation in the Gas Hydrate Research & Technology applicable to Indian Basins. It also signed an MOU with IOC R&D for development of nanoparticles as kinetic inhibitors in dissociation of gas from gas hydrates under reservoir conditions. During the year 2021-22, ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL) amalgamated with Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs effective from 1 May 2022. During the year 2023, the Corporation commissioned drilling of 4 High Pressure High Temperature (HP-HT) wells spreading over KG Basin (02 wells) and Mumbai Offshore (02 wells) and 3 wells, one each in Cambay Basin, Assam Shelf and Mumbai Offshore (SW). 85 exploratory wells were drilled, while the balance 376 wells were development wells including side-track wells. Besides 23 wells of previous years were concluded out of which 16 wells proved to be hydrocarbon bearing. A total of 809 LKM of 2D and 13696 SKM of 3D seismic was acquired during FY'23. Out of this quantum, a total of 658.83 LKM 2D and 10,959.85 SKM of 3D seismic data was acquired in Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) blocks in Andaman Offshore. An airborne DHI technique (Airborne Hydrocarbon Sensing System/ AHSS) was commissioned in Baramura & Barjala Areas of Tripura covering an area of about 1,488 SKM on 6 February 2023. During the FY'23, the Corporation commissioned 5 major projects costing Rs 8118 Crores comprising Redevelopment of Nandasan Field- Mehsana Asset on 22 Nov' 22; Gas compressor Project at Ankleshwar Asset (GCP-ANK) on Mar' 31, 2023; Mumbai High South Redevelopment Phase-IV (MHSRD-IV) on 8 May, 2022; Cluster-8 Development Project effective Dec'31, 2022 and WO-16 Cluster Development Project(MOPU) on Dec' 23, 2022. As a part of concerted exploration efforts for Basement Play, a total of 3 wells having basement as an objective were drilled, including Padra-168 in Cambay Basin, Tengahola-1 in Assam Shelf and BH87 in Mumbai Offshore. The well Padra-168 proved hydrocarbon bearing in Basement. During FY'23, 8 exploratory HP-HT wells namely Bantumilli South-5, South Penumadam-1 & North Veeravasaram-1 in KG Onland, Baramura-37 in AAFB, Tripura, GS-71-3 & GS-21-4 in KG Offshore (SW), MBS171HAA-1 and D-33-9 in Mumbai Offshore were taken up for drilling. Well MBS171HAA-1 in Mumbai Offshore OALP block was found to be gas bearing and notified as new prospect discovery. Well GS-21-4 also proved gas bearing. During FY'23 another four new generation hi-tech drilling were commissioned (7 rigs commissioned till 31 March 2023) and 2 more rigs were commissioned during Apr-May 2023. 5 Rigs out of 20 Automated Hydraulic Workover rigs were commissioned at Mehsana, Ahmedabad, Assam, Ankleshwar and Agartala. In 2024, ONGC completed Heera Redevelopment Phase-III Project costing Rs 2482 Cr. and Development of NELP Block KG-ONN-2003/1 Nagayalanka Field Phase-II costing Rs 258.16 Cr. A total of 971.81 LKM of 2D and 8588 SKM of 3D seismic data was acquired in FY'24. Out of this quantum, a total of 671.82 LKM 2D and 6140.28 SKM of 3D seismic data was acquired in Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) blocks.