The overseas arm of the state run oil company ONGC and its wholly-owned subsidiary, ONGC Videsh (OVL), has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary OVL Overseas IFSC (OOIL) in GIFT City, Gujarat which will function as the global treasury centre to cater to the treasury activities of OVL and its 25 subsidiaries (including step-down subsidiaries) spread across 15 countries.
Given the business-friendly regulatory environment in GIFT City, OOIL expects to efficiently consolidate funds available with the group in various countries and raise additional funds needed to achieve the ambitious target of producing 40 million metric tonnes oil and oil equivalent (MMToe) by 2040 from overseas assets.
With India’s first International Financial Services Centre at GIFT City now operational, it will give option to Indian and overseas multinationals to shift their overseas investments onshore. The new entity, OOIL, will act as ONGC Group’s gateway to the world for its overseas ventures and investments.
A Navratana Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, OVL plays a pivotal role in securing the energy interests of India, which imports a significant part of its hydrocarbon requirements. The primary business of ONGC Videsh is to prospect for oil and gas acreages outside India, including exploration, development and production of oil and gas. The CPSE owns participating Interests in 32 oil and gas assets in 15 countries. In terms of reserves and production, ONGC Videsh is the second largest petroleum company of India, next only to its parent ONGC.
Earlier this week, ONGC announces the successful commencement of oil production from its long-awaited deep-sea project in the Krishna Godavari basin, with the initial oil flow from the KG-DWN-98/2 block taking place on 7 January, 2024. The deep-water block situated off the coast of Bay of Bengal is likely to increase ONGC’s total oil and gas production by 11 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
Combating various technological and Covid-related challenges, ONGC had successfully executed phase 1 of the project in March 2020, achieving the commencement of gas production from U field of the KG-DWN-98/2 block in record time of 10 months. With commencement of this ‘first oil’, ONGC is nearing completion of phase 2, culminating into commencement of oil production from the ‘M’ field of KG-DWN-98/2.
The flagship project is on track with final phase of project with the balance oil and gas fields of the block scheduled to be put on production by mid 2024. Peak production of field is expected to be 45,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and over 10 MMSCMD of gas, which will contribute significantly towards the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
