India’s exploration and production (E&P) sector is critical to meeting the country’s rising energy needs amid rapid economic growth. As the National Oil Company (NOC), ONGC plays a central role, accounting for about 75% of India’s domestic crude oil and natural gas production. Mumbai Offshore Basin is ONGC’s most prolific hydrocarbon-producing basin. The basin comprises 43 blocks, of which 28 blocks are under the nomination regime, with the balance under OALP / NELP / DSF regimes. Collectively, these blocks have contributed a substantial share of ONGC’s crude oil and natural gas production and have remained under continuous development for over four decades.
While ONGC continues to unlock new hydrocarbon resources through greenfield projects, enhancing recovery from mature fields remains equally important to raising domestic production. ONGC entered into a Technical Services Provider (TSP) Contract with M/s BP Exploration Alpha Ltd. (BPXA) for the Mumbai High field (presently ~38% of total western offshore production O+OEG), which is the largest oil field of the Mumbai Offshore Basin, in early January 2025. Preliminary production data during the initial months of TSP implementation indicate moderation of the earlier decline trajectory and stabilization of production. This has been achieved through focused Well, Reservoir and Facility Management (WRFM) initiatives, optimization of existing wells, enhanced surveillance, and prioritized facility de-bottlenecking.
Building on this experience, ONGC decided to engage a Technical Services Provider for the entire Western Offshore (excluding the Mumbai High field) in line with the existing TSP engaged for the MH field. Accordingly, ONGC issued an International Competitive Bidding (ICB) Tender for engagement of a TSP to enhance production from mature offshore oil and gas fields in the Mumbai Offshore Basin (excluding Mumbai High) through the induction of global technology, expertise, and best-in-class operational and management practices. All the major International Oil Companies were invited to participate.
After the bid evaluation process, M/s BP Exploration Services India Limited (BPXS), UK, a wholly-owned step-down subsidiary of BP Plc, UK has been selected as TSP. The TSP will review the field performance & identify improvements in reservoir, facilities and wells to enhance production from Western Offshore fields (excluding MH field). TSP has indicated a substantial potential increase of ~ 10.8% in crude oil (from baseline production of 46.25 MMT to 51.26 MMT) and ~ 31.5% increase in gas production (from 82.68 BCM to 108.69 BCM) for the ten-year contract period. In terms of O+OEG, the increase works out to ~24.1% (from 128.93 MMTOE to 159.96 MMTOE). The increase is expected to be visible from FY’27, with full-scale visibility expected from FY’30.
TSP will receive a fixed fee for the first two years, followed by a Service Fee based on a percentage share of the revenue from net incremental hydrocarbon production, after recovering incremental costs.
With this, ONGC aims to realize the enhanced potential of the entire Western Offshore fields (72.62 MMTOE O+OEG), not limited to the Mumbai High field alone by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and global best practices, securing its future contribution to India’s energy landscape.
