Athira Sethu
Kochi, 22 Sep 2026
ONGC could continue to attract attention on Tuesday, September 22, following its announcement of gas discovery in one of its deepwater wells located in India’s eastern offshore area.
ONGC made the discovery on September 18 from the MN-DW18-1-H-D well as part of its Samudra Manthan deepwater exploration program. It was the first well drilled by ONGC in the Mahanadi Basin as part of the program.
According to ONGC, gas was discovered at a depth of 1,441 to 1,452 meters in the well. The well was drilled to a total depth of 1,623 meters. Furthermore, ONGC reported that gas had been coming out of the well in the last three days in encouraging flows and reservoir pressure.
However, the discovery will have to be tested and evaluated for its commercial viability through an appraisal process. An appraisal is carried out to evaluate whether the gas deposit has commercial quantity and value.
As the gas deposit has been discovered in proximity to the coast of Odisha, this could make it easier for ONGC to develop the deposit if it turns out to be commercially viable. According to ONGC, the deposit could potentially be developed in conjunction with other deposits in the area through common facilities.
Other Stocks that Can Also be Considered
Jindal Drilling & Industries can draw investor interest because of increased deepwater exploration, which would result in higher demand for offshore drilling rigs. The company operates a number of rigs with ONGC, and has recently got a three-year contract for its Jindal Pioneer rig.
Deep Industries is a drilling, gas compression and oilfield services company. Its venture into offshore oilfield services through Dolphin Offshore may offer chances if offshore exploration becomes active.
Dolphin Offshore Enterprises is an offshore engineering, marine and subsea services company. Increased exploration and development activities can result in higher demand for these services.
SEAMEC offers diving, inspection, maintenance and other offshore services. It can gain from increased discoveries being taken to the development stage, although deepwater projects usually require many years before going into development.
Antelopus Selan Energy has a link to the Mahanadi region through its offshore D-11 block, which it controls through 100% participation interest. The D-11 block has six gas discoveries and is currently undergoing development.
HOEC is another such offshore E&P firm that could get the limelight when India raises exploration efforts offshore.
It does not mean that this ONGC discovery will automatically land any such deals in the hands of these firms. But an increased offshore exploration would mean an increase in the demand for drilling rigs, vessels, subsea work, and other oilfield machinery.
The ₹84,084 crore ‘Samudra Manthan’ scheme of the government too is a part of offshore exploration and development.
In simpler words, increased exploration means increased drilling and discoveries, which in turn means increased prospects for these firms offering offshore equipment/services.
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