Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India’s state-owned behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest Rs. 1 lakh crore by 2030 in low-carbon energy opportunities, including renewables and green hydrogen as it looks to transform into a low-carbon energy player, the company said on Thursday.
India’s largest crude oil and natural gas producer said it has detailed a “roadmap to scale up its low-carbon energy portfolio significantly.”
“ONGC has aligned itself with India’s ambitious goals and is wholeheartedly contributing to the nation’s aim to curtail carbon emissions by 1 billion tons and simultaneously reduce carbon intensity by 45 percent by 2030,” it said.
The corporation has adopted various de-carbonization levers resulting in significant emission reductions over the years.
Integrating sustainable practices into core operations has enabled a reduction in Scope-1 and Scope-2 emissions by 17 percent in the last five years. ONGC reduced its emissions by 2.66 percent in FY23.
It plans to significantly increase its spending on green initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint as a broader effort to achieve net zero for Scope-1 and Scope-2 emissions by 2038, the statement said.
The firm is in an advanced stage of crafting collaborations with leading players in the energy space on various low-carbon energy opportunities including renewables, green hydrogen, green ammonia, and other derivatives of green hydrogen.
ONGC is planning to set up two green-field O2C plants in India, and charting a roadmap for opportunities in renewable energy and low-carbon sectors. It is investing around Rs 1 lakh crore by the end of this decade, on its multiple green initiatives and is planning to scale up its renewable portfolio to 10 GW by 2030.
Also, the focus is on research and development in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies to mitigate emissions from existing processes.
“However, oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) will remain the cornerstone of its energy business. Extensive exploration in known basins as well as frontier plays, sustained production from existing fields, and exploitation of deep-water fields remain the central areas of emphasis,” ONGC said.
In recent years, ONGC has pushed the frontiers of exploration to expand its boundaries. Under its “Future Exploration Strategy,” it has set up an ambitious target to bring 5 lakh square kilometers of the area under active exploration by acquiring one lakh square km every year, spending Rs 10,000 crore annually on exploration by 2025.
“ONGC is dynamically evolving to meet changing realities. While maintaining our immediate focus on exploration and production, we are also crafting a future-ready ONGC that exemplifies resilience, agility, and adaptability. With each step forward, its discourse and actions will align more with that of an ‘energy’ company rather than solely an oil and gas explorer and producer,” the statement added.