NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has signed a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited for the offshore Block GS-OSHP-2022/2 located in the Saurashtra Basin off India’s western coast.
The block, awarded under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bid Round IX, covers an area of approximately 5,454 square kilometers and falls within a Category-II sedimentary basin, indicating high hydrocarbon potential.
As part of the agreement, ONGC will operate the block, holding a 40% participating interest, while Reliance and BP each hold a 30% stake. This tripartite collaboration marks a significant step in India’s efforts to enhance domestic hydrocarbon production and reduce energy import dependency.
The agreement was officially signed on July 28, 2025, at ONGC’s Deendayal Urja Bhavan in New Delhi. Senior representatives from all three companies attended the signing ceremony, including Manoj Kumar (BP), Avinash Kumar Pathak (Reliance), and ONGC executives Arunangshu Sarkar, Om Prakash Sinha, and Sanjay Baveja.
This development also highlights ONGC’s broader success in OALP-IX, where it secured a total of 15 exploration blocks. Among these, four blocks, including GS-OSHP-2022/2, were awarded jointly to the ONGC-Reliance-BP consortium.
The partnership is expected to accelerate exploration activities in the Saurashtra offshore region, strengthen India's energy security, and boost indigenous oil and gas production.
