New Delhi: Oil India Limited (OIL) has signed a Technology Service Agreement with TotalEnergies to expand collaboration in deepwater and ultradeepwater exploration across India’s offshore regions. The agreement was finalised in New Delhi in the presence of Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain, Additional Secretary Praveen Mal Khanooja and OIL Chairman and Managing Director Ranjit Rath.

According to OIL, the agreement “puts in place a framework to leverage TotalEnergies’ world-class expertise in deep and ultradeep water exploration value chain across OIL’s current & future offshore portfolio”. The pact was signed by Sangkaran Ratnam, CMD of TotalEnergies Gas & Power Projects India Pvt Ltd, and Saloma Yomdo, Director (E&D), OIL, alongside senior officials of both organisations.

The collaboration will focus on ongoing and planned exploration activities. This includes the “ongoing appraisal programme of gas find in the shallow offshore blocks in Andaman Basin” and work in OIL’s OALP-IX ultradeepwater blocks in the Mahanadi and Krishna-Godavari basins. OIL said the agreement will also support the “evaluation of opportunities under ongoing OALP X / future bid rounds” and provide technical guidance for stratigraphic well drilling in offshore Category-II and III basins.

OIL described the partnership as an important move in expanding its offshore exploration footprint, stating that it “marks a significant milestone in OIL’s commitment to pursue exploration in offshore frontiers towards possible hydrocarbon discovery and secure sustainable energy future for India.”

BI Bureau