ONGC reaches out to Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Chevron, others for production enhancement in western offshore
New Delhi: State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has reached out to as many as 10 global energy players to participate in the tender for the role of technical service provider (TSP) to increase production in western offshore fields, ONGC director (production) Pankaj Kumar told media persons on the sidelines of India Energy Week.
Companies interviewed include UK-based Shell, bp plc, French major TotalEnergies and US oil and gas giants ExxonMobil and Chevron.
The plan to roll out the TSP for other fields comes at a time when oil and gas production has been largely muted.
ONGC reported that in FY25, standalone crude oil production increased by 0.9% to 18.558 million tonnes (mt) and natural gas production showed a slight decline to 19.654 billion cubic meters (BCM).
“We are currently in the market for another TSP covering the Western Offshore, excluding the Mumbai high field. The tender has been opened and we have personally contacted the CEOs of 10 major E&P (exploration and production) operators, including Shell, bp, Chevron, Exxon, TotalEnergies,” Kumar said.
Bassein, Heera & Neelam fields and Panna-Mukta fields are important fields in the western offshore.
Emailed queries to Shell, bp, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies late Tuesday evening remained unanswered by press time.
The national oil and gas major has already appointed bp plc as TSP for the Mumbai High field. Last year, ONGC and bp signed a contract under which bp will serve as the TSP for the Mumbai High field, India’s largest offshore oil field.
According to the company, BP aims to increase revenue by 15 billion dollars in 10 years by increasing oil production by 44% and gas production by 89%.
Under the revitalization plan, ONGC and bp have divided Mumbai High School into six centers for faster and optimized redevelopment. In the first phase, ONGC has already committed capital expenditure of $400 million. Under phase 2 of the redevelopment of the Mumbai High field, both companies have targeted 100 new wells in FY28 and FY29.
The company’s board of directors has approved a development plan that will produce 12 metric tons of oil and 13.5 BCM of gas over the next few years.
The UK-based energy giant will work closely with ONGC to offset the current production decline at the field and return it to a strong growth trajectory. In August 2025, ONGC’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Arun Kumar Singh said that work for the planned enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is currently ongoing.
In November, ONGC reported that with persistent efforts to increase domestic production, ONGC has been able to achieve “increasing trend” in crude oil production.
Independent crude oil production in the First Half of FY26 and FY2026 stood at 4,630 mt and 9,314 mt respectively, registering an increase of 1.2% compared to the corresponding periods of FY25.
“ONGC has also managed to arrest growth on the gas production front. In the first quarter of FY2026, the decline from 0.35% in Q1FY25 has been reduced to 0.04% in Q2FY20,” it said in a statement. he said.
The state-run company has achieved total savings thanks to measures including improved oil recovery. ₹9,300 crore by FY27 through a series of cost optimization measures planned by the company. The cost reduction will account for approximately 15% of the planned operating and capital expenditure cost. ₹The director (production) had said 62,000 crores during this period in October.
The company formed a special cost council in the wake of falling oil prices and predictions that crude oil trading would be stagnant around $60 a barrel in the next two fiscals. Optimization of offshore resources, increasing drilling, efficiency, logistics route optimization, reducing inventory and improving fuel efficiency are the state-owned company’s key cost reduction initiatives.
