ONGC spuds first deepwater well in Mahanadi Basin

ONGC started drilling its first deepwater exploratory well, named MN-DW18-1-H-D, in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin about 23 nautical miles from Konark off the Odisha coast on 25 July 2026. The spudding was done virtually by the Petroleum Minister from New Delhi. This is part of the government Samudra Manthan Mission to tap India deepwater oil and gas reserves, and builds on ONGC recent Utkal and Konark discoveries in the same basin. India has opened nearly one million square kilometres of offshore area, estimated to hold over 5,600 MMTOE of hydrocarbon potential in waters up to 3,000 metres deep. No reserves or production estimates for this specific well have been shared yet.