India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries signed an agreement on January 27 to enable resource sharing for deepwater offshore exploration and production operations on the east coast of India.
The collaboration focuses on the Krishna Godavari basin and Andaman offshore regions, which the companies stated would lead to cost optimisation and improved asset utilisation in complex deepwater projects.
The agreement is aligned with an initiative facilitated by the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas introduced the act to create a framework for operators to share infrastructure and facilities, both on land and offshore, for the development of oilfields and the production of hydrocarbons.
Under the initiative from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the two companies will share key resources required for offshore operations.
According to the statement, these include onshore and offshore processing facilities, drilling rigs, power, pipelines, logging and well services. The sharing arrangement also includes vessels such as MSVs, tugs, and PSVs.
The agreement is expected to deliver measurable benefits through a structured framework for pooling critical assets and capabilities, the companies said.
Reliance and ONGC stated that cost optimisation is expected to be achieved through the shared use of high-value rigs, vessels, logistics and specialised subsea equipment. The companies also noted that the arrangement is expected to lead to improved resource utilisation by reducing duplication and idle capacity across operators.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas stated that the agreement is expected to result in faster mobilisation and execution by improving access to the limited deepwater services available. It added the agreement reflects an emphasis on energy security through domestic exploration and production, enabled by streamlined infrastructure utilisation.