India’s government-owned energy giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has made a new natural gas discovery in the deep waters of the Mahanadi Basin off the country’s east coast.
The drilling campaign that led to the latest gas discovery was launched on July 25, 2026, by Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, with the spudding of the MDW-28 (MN-DW18-1-H-D) exploration well in the deep offshore Mahanadi Basin.
MDW-28, which is described by the Asian company as the first well in its current deepwater campaign in this basin, is reported to flow gas with encouraging rates and sustained reservoir pressure.
The well is part of ONGC’s deepwater exploration campaign under the government of India’s Samudra Manthan initiative. Following subsurface data evaluation, the well was perforated on September 18, 2026.
During operations, Arun Kumar Singh, ONGC’s Chairman and CEO, Vikram Saxena, ONGC’s Director of Technology & Field Services, and Om Prakash (O. P.) Sinha, ONGC’s Director of Exploration, visited the Platinum Explorer drillship to interact with and encourage the crew onboard.
The company underlined: “This find, along with other discoveries in the area, can be a candidate for development through shared facilities enabled by the PNG Rules, 2025, bringing deepwater resources on stream.
“ONGC will continue to push into deep and ultra-deepwater frontiers in the search for hydrocarbons, and towards India’s goal of energy security. Hopefully, a new chapter in India’s energy frontier.”
The new gas find builds upon previous regional successes and aligns with the country’s goals to unlock its deep and ultra-deepwater hydrocarbon potential, curb import dependency, and boost energy security.
ONGC did not provide any further details. The company is working to increase its energy resources, as illustrated by its recent two-year binding letter of award (LOA) to Transocean for the 2010-built Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 drillship.
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