ONGC Reiterates Commitment to Overseas Oil & Gas Properties to Enhance Energy Security

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh reiterated that hydrocarbons will be at the core of the world's energy equation for decades

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

NEW DELHI: India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has reiterated its commitment to acquiring overseas oil and gas properties as part of a long-range strategy to enhance national energy security despite continued geopolitical uncertainty and economic turbulence in global markets.

Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh on Friday, laid out the firm's vision for focusing on fundamentals rather than short-term disturbances, reiterating that hydrocarbons will be at the core of the world's energy equation for decades.

"Oil and gas continue to underpin the global energy matrix. Acquiring strategic foreign assets is not only a business imperative but a compulsion for securing India's energy security," Singh said. He recognized geopolitical tensions and protectionism as challenges but emphasized grit in ONGC's strategy.

He added, "History teaches us that disruptions eventually stabilize. Our focus remains on assets that align with our long-term vision and are available at reasonable valuations. Short-term headwinds cannot derail our mission."

Overseas strategy: Prioritizing low-risk, high-value assets ONGC's overseas unit, ONGC Videsh, remains focused on developing or about-to-be-developing assets rather than high-risk greenfield exploration.

"The globe is full of discovered but undeveloped reserves. For a company our size, these provide higher returns than speculation-exploration," Singh explained, referring to the firm's move towards this approach in the last decade.