'Pact with TotalEnergies to aid deepwater exploration'

Oil India Ltd plans cost reduction of around ~1,000 crore in 18 months as crude oil prices fall to nearly $65 per barrel, says chairman and managing director (CMD) Ranjit Rath in an interview with Shubhangi Mathur in New Delhi. Edited excerpts:

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How do you see collaboration with TotalEnergies affecting exploration initiatives?

How do you see collaboration with TotalEnergies affecting exploration initiatives?

The collaboration will provide technical support for deep and ultra-deep water exploration efforts. TotalEnergies is a pioneer in deep water exploration. A collaboration was necessary as deep water exploration is a first for Oil India. To succeed in exploration, acquisition, processing and interpretation of seismic 2D and 3D data is the building block. Our collaboration captures technical support from TotalEnergies in formulating designs and reviewing data we acquire for Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) IX blocks. We have about 40,000 square km of area in Mahanadi and Krishna Godavari basin from OALP IX round. Meanwhile, for OALP X, we have initiated in-house assessment of the blocks under bidding. We will seek support from TotalEnergies in identifying additional inputs which would help us revisit our bidding strategy.