📚 New to this topic? Read our full guide: Biggest Companies in India.
ONGC Expands BP Partnership To Lift Output From Western Offshore Fields
ONGC is India’s biggest oil company. It is owned by the government. ONGC has made its deal with BP bigger. BP is a large British energy company. The goal is to pump more oil and gas from the sea off India’s west coast. The two companies signed a new deal on June 25, 2026. In the deal, BP will help ONGC get more oil from some old but important sea fields. This new deal builds on good results at the famous Mumbai High field.
An “offshore basin” is a big area under the sea where oil and gas are found. The Western Offshore Basin has been ONGC’s main oil area for more than 40 years. It has 43 blocks. A “block” is a marked patch of seabed given to a company to look for oil and gas or to pump it. This one area gives about 64% of all the crude oil and natural gas that India makes on its own. (Crude oil is oil straight from the ground, before it is cleaned and used.)
What the new contract covers
BP will be a “technical services provider.” This means BP brings its skills, tools, and methods to help ONGC get more oil from fields it already has. BP is not buying the fields. ONGC still owns them. BP only helps ONGC run them better.
The pay plan rewards good results. In the first year, BP gets a fixed fee. A fixed fee is a set amount of money agreed in advance. After the first year, BP gets a “performance-based fee.” This means BP’s pay is tied to how much extra oil and gas it helps produce. So if BP helps make more oil, BP earns more. This links BP’s pay straight to what India gains.
Building on the Mumbai High success
BP first joined to help with Mumbai High in 2025. Mumbai High is one of India’s biggest and oldest oil fields in the sea. Old fields slowly make less oil over time. This slow drop is called “natural decline.” In its first year there, BP helped slow this drop.
BP did this with steps like “well optimisation” and better “reservoir surveillance.” A well is the deep hole that oil is pumped out of. Well optimisation means fixing each well so it gives as much oil as it can. A reservoir is the pool of oil and gas deep underground. Reservoir surveillance means watching that pool closely so it is used wisely. After these good results, ONGC chose to give BP a bigger role across the whole area.
Key facts
| Item | Detail (as reported) |
|---|---|
| Partners | ONGC and BP |
| Contract signed | June 25, 2026 |
| Area covered | Western Offshore Basin (43 blocks) |
| Share of India’s output | About 64% of domestic crude and gas |
| First-year payment | Fixed fee |
| Later payment | Performance-based on extra output |
| Earlier scope | Mumbai High (BP since 2025) |
Two top officials watched the signing. They were Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Petroleum Secretary Dr Neeraj Mittal. Their presence shows the government really cares about this push to make more oil.
Why it matters (especially for India and founders)
India buys most of its oil from other countries. This costs a lot of foreign money. (Foreign money, or foreign currency, is the money of other countries, like US dollars, that India must use to buy from abroad.) It also means India can be hurt when world oil prices jump up and down. Making more oil from fields India already has cuts the need to buy from abroad. This helps keep India’s energy safe and steady.
For business owners and founders (people who start their own companies), more home-made energy can mean steadier fuel and power costs over time. It also shows India teaming up with world experts to make its key industries more modern. This is part of a bigger trend of large energy and building projects, much like Tata Power’s Rs 15,000 crore grid upgrade in Mumbai.
FAQ
Is ONGC selling its fields to BP?
No. ONGC still owns the fields. BP only helps run them better and gets paid a fee for that.
How will BP be paid?
BP gets a fixed fee in the first year. After that, BP’s pay is tied to the extra oil and gas it helps produce.
Why is the Western Offshore Basin so important?
It has been ONGC’s main oil area for more than 40 years. It gives about 64% of all the crude oil and natural gas India makes on its own.
The main point is this: ONGC is bringing in BP’s world skills to slow the drop in oil and pump more from India’s most important sea fields. If it works across the whole area like it did at Mumbai High, India could make more of its own oil and gas and buy less from other countries.
Source: Financial Express.
Get the day’s top stories in your inbox
One concise email. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
