India's ONGC partners with BP to increase production at its largest oil field

India's leading explorer Oil And Natural Gas Corp said on Wednesday that energy giant BP would act as a technical service provider in order to boost oil and natural gas production from the largest producing field of India, located off India's West Coast.

BP has pledged an increase in oil and gas production from the Mumbai High Field, discovered in 1974. ONGC announced this in a filing to the stock exchange.

According to the tender document published last year, the field's production peaked at 471,000 barrels of oil per day in March 1985. By April 2024 its output was down to 134,000 bpd.

India, the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, is looking to increase its oil and natural gas production, which has stagnated for many years.

In June, India's government announced that ONGC had sought a technical tie up with a major oil company to increase production. BP's Board met India's Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri on September 20, 2024.

Puri said that the country had asked foreign companies to take part in India's exploration programme.

BP will provide technical services for the field.

"We are looking forward to bringing to Mumbai High our extensive experience in optimising performance and recovering from mature fields across the globe to unlock and enhance its production," BP stated in a press release.

BP operates 1,900 retail fuel stations in India in a joint venture with Reliance Industries. It also produces oil and natural gas in a deepwater basin in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, located off India's east coastline.

Reliance and BP have teamed up to bid for the exploration rights of an Indian offshore block. Sethuraman N.R., Nidhh Verma and Michael Perry edited the report.

(source: Reuters)