Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is positioning itself as a gas and oil company after natural gas output slightly exceeded crude oil, its chairman Arun Kumar Singh said. He said gas will be the main growth driver as domestic demand rises and pricing reforms take effect. Singh indicated oil production is likely to remain broadly flat without major discoveries while gas expands as new fields come on stream.

He said gas has become a more valued fuel in India and that new field developments and policy support have raised its attractiveness relative to oil. Singh noted new well gas is linked to twelve per cent of crude prices and accounts for about a quarter of gas output, which he said could reach 30-36 per cent in the near term. The company views gas as more lucrative under current pricing.

ONGC expects annual gas production growth of around seven to eight per cent, supported by projects such as DUDP, DSF and offshore developments including the 98/2 wells scheduled to come online next fiscal year. The exploration and production arm accounts for roughly two thirds of the group and the company drills about 500 wells annually, both exploratory and producing. It reported a reserve replacement ratio above 1.1 in FY25-26, indicating replenishment of produced reserves.

Singh said the firm is executing about Rs 330 bn in offshore projects to sustain and increase output while targeting improved recovery from mature Western Offshore assets. A technical service partnership with BP covers the entire asset base and has delivered early operational gains, and overseas production includes stable output from Sakhalin and progress on a Mozambique liquefied natural gas project that may complete by 2028. The company also expects improvement at OPaL and growth at ONGC Green, which is targeting nearly three gigawatts of capacity next year.