Rajarhri Gupta Managing Director, ONGC Videsh Limited Speaking at India Energy Week 2024

Look, for net zero, we are trying to do three things, and these three things demonstrate that ONGC doesn't just talk — ONGC does what it says. First, we set a goal for ourselves. Without getting into technical details, for net zero there are three types of emissions: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. We have said that by 2038, Scope 1 and Scope 2 will be zero. Scope 1 is our own power usage, and Scope 2 is from our vendors. Now, 2038 may seem 15 years away, but we haven't stopped there. How will we achieve this? By 2038, we will spend approximately ₹24 lakh crore, translating to about $24 billion depending on the exchange rate. This is our second point. And why will we spend this? Without it, we can't achieve it. We need to improve our technology, reduce emissions, improve efficiency, and develop renewables. Out of this, we will spend ₹1 lakh crore by 2030, and another ₹1 lakh crore after that — in two parts. Our target is to build 10 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030 from various sources — solar, hydro, hydrogen, ammonia, everything. The rest will be completed by 2038. So to repeat: Scope 1 and 2 zero by 2038, ₹1 lakh crore by 2030, another ₹1 lakh crore after that, 10 GW of renewables by 2030, and the remainder by 2038. We are also collaborating worldwide on CCUS — Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage — to implement CCS projects. We recently won a renewable energy bid, which will immediately increase our capacity. We also need to pursue both brown feed and green feed.

Look, for green hydrogen, the best consumers are refineries, and we have the MRPL refinery and HPCL. We are also working at our ONGC Energy Center, which is working on three different methods of green hydrogen. We want to pilot this and then commercialize it, ideally near the refineries so consumption can happen locally. There is a challenge with hydrogen — it can be produced, but transporting it over long distances is difficult. Currently such technology may come in the future, but there are issues. If the consumer is also nearby and we can build production near the refinery, then it will be very good for the group and for India.

Look, ONGC and ONGC Videsh combined, we call ourselves a 1:1 company. We produce about 11 million tons of oil and gas abroad through ONGC Videsh, which is India's number two company — ONGC is number one, ONGC Videsh is number two — and we are larger than all other companies combined. ONGC produces about 44-45 million tons, so together we produce between 56-60 million tons. We have refineries and sell about 38-40 million tons of petroleum products. So we are equally balanced in all three areas — we produce, refine, and sell. And the good news — onshore in India and in the Western Offshore, our production from Mumbai High, BNS, and Neelam, which are three major assets, is performing well. Mumbai High is completing 50 years. In the Eastern Offshore, we had a discovery that we hadn't been able to monetize, but this year we completed that project and production is coming in very well. We expect more wells to open up. The figure that came in the media — 45,000 barrels per day, which is about 2.5 million tons, and about 9-10 MMSCMD of gas per day. This will come when peak production is achieved. This is in deep water — Mumbai is in shallow water while this is in deep water. Very few companies in the world have deep water operational capability. ONGC stands among them today. This is a significant contribution to India's energy security and reducing imports.

The average capex is ₹30,000 to ₹32,000 crore. This year it may be slightly higher, and we are trying to increase it. In exploration, we have committed to spending ₹10,000 crore every year across different basins in India. And OVL's budget is about ₹8,000-10,000 crore for international operations. Together, both are above ₹40,000 crore.

Our exploration efforts are ongoing. Our biggest recent exploration success has been in Colombia, where we are producing about 25,000 barrels per day with just 75 people — 63 Colombians and about 12-13 of our people. This was our own discovery in a new play, and our production is growing.

When the next round comes, we will definitely look at it, because we have been in discussions with the Guyana minister for a long time. When the next round is announced, we will definitely participate.

Look, exploration is still ongoing. It could potentially reach 100,000 barrels per day depending on results, but it's not right to predict before the exploration is complete. When you go 3 kilometers down or 2 kilometers down, how much will be commercial and how much we can extract — that becomes clear after the study. But they have good expectations from Colombia. In South Sudan, our two projects combined produce about 57,000-58,000 barrels per day with our 25 percent share. Production is coming in well from several places. In Brazil, we have production, though it's lower. Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Russia — we have operations in multiple locations.

We are not doing anything in the East currently. When restrictions are lifted, we will. We have a discovery in an asset there.

That work is done by them. We are not in that space. They handle the technology, right? We don't do that. Okay.