(FE)
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-owned ONGC. expects to complete its offshore gas exploration project in Mozambique by late 2027 or early 2028, its managing director Rajarshi Gupta said in an analyst call.
“In Mozambique we are doing very well and the work has already started. We expect force majeure to be removed anytime now and all the vendors are in place. So we are confident that by late 2027 or early 2028, we should commission this,” he said.
The company holds a 10% stake in the “Offshore Area 1 LNG” project with a cost of $20 billion. The project has been under force majeure since April 2021 following attacks by Islamic State terrorists in Northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. However, the company expects the force majeure to be removed soon and start gas production from the project in the next three years.
The company’s Board of Directors has recently approved an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in one or more tranches by OVL in Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (BREML) . BREML is a subsidiary of OVL with 60 percent shareholding with the remaining 40% held by OIL India Limited (OIL).
OVL’s oil production saw a marginal increase of 1.2% in FY25, reaching 7.265 MMT from 7.178 MMT in FY24. The increase was driven by strong contributions from the key operated or jointly operated assets, namely MECL & CPO5 in Colombia and GPOC & SPOC in South Sudan despite geopolitical headwinds, natural decline, and local issues, the company said.
Going forward, apart from its exploration and production activities, ONGC will be focusing on the downstream LNG business while also expanding its renewable energy portfolio, the company’s chairman Arun Kumar Singh said.
The company aims to have 10 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Its current RE capacity stands at 2.5 GW.
For the current financial year 2025-26, ONGC has set a capex plan of Rs 30,000-35,000 crore which will primarily be utilised for its exploration & production activities and the renewable energy segment, Singh said.
The company on Wednesday reported a decline of 20% in its consolidated net profit for the last quarter of financial year 2024-25 at Rs 8,856.33 crore against Rs 11,096.03 crore in Q4FY24. On a sequential basis too, the net profit declined by 9% from Rs 9,783.64 crore in Q3FY25.
The standalone crude oil production of the company during FY25 stood at 18.558 million tonnes with an increase of 0.9% over FY24. The standalone natural gas production was 19.654 billion cubic meters in FY25 as against 19.978 BCM in FY24. Going forward, the company expects its oil and gas production to improve with the KG 98/2 block nearing its peak production capacity.
