ONGC, BP, Reliance Sign Deal for Saurashtra Offshore Block

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), in collaboration with BP Exploration (Alpha) Ltd and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has signed a joint operating contract (JOA) for offshore discovery in block GS-OSHP-2022/2. The agreement was formalized on July 28 at ONGC's Deendayal Urja Bhavan in New Delhi, according to regulatory documents.

The outside block was given as part of the Open-Crown Licensing Policy (OALP) BID Round-IX, located in the Saurashtra basin along India's western coast. The distance is about 5,454 square kilometers, which comes under the Category-II basin. ONGC will work as an operator for the project.

The agreement signifies an important moment in the consortium's collaboration on energy exploration and emphasizes their mutual dedication to improving India's energy security and long-term resource strategy.

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In parallel, ONGC has agreed to a real election amount of up to ₹ 5,082 crore for its subsidiaries under ONGC Videsh Ltd, which is fixed for expenditure in FY26-27 for the region 1 Mozambique LNG project. ONGC Videsh has a 16% stake in the project, which is run by its subsidiaries ONGC Videsh Rovuma (OVRL) and Biaus Rovuma Energy Mozambique (BREML). Of the total amount, Breml will spend ₹ 1,270.62 crores in FY26 and ₹ 635.31 crores in FY27.

ONGC, in isolation, disclosed a decrease in net profit of 35% in Q4 FY25, which is lower than the previous year's ₹9,869 crore and is at ₹6,448 crore. This was mainly because of the decline in crude oil prices. The company has recorded $73.72 per barrel in Q4, whereas last year it had recorded $80.81 per barrel during the same quarter.