Energy / The Long Road From Bhubaneswar To The Deep Sea

Bhubaneswar, Sep 23: There was no roar of machinery, no drilling rig rising from the sea and no headline announcing a major discovery when the journey began.

There was simply an office in Bhubaneswar.

On May 10, 2015, when then Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated ONGC's new office in the Odisha capital, few could have imagined that the modest beginning would eventually lead to deepwater exploration and gas discoveries beneath the Bay of Bengal.

But some stories are not written in a day. They are built patiently—survey by survey, kilometre by kilometre, year after year.

Odisha had long carried the promise of the Mahanadi Basin. Geological studies had suggested that the basin, stretching across the state's onshore areas and into the Bay of Bengal, could hold significant hydrocarbon resources. Yet much of that promise remained buried, literally and figuratively. Exploration was limited and fragmented.

The change began with an idea: before searching for oil and gas, understand the land and the sea beneath which they may lie.

In 2016, Odisha became the starting point of the National Seismic Programme. Around 2,530 line kilometres of seismic surveys were carried out across the Mahanadi Basin in the state, covering nine districts. The exercise was essentially an attempt to make the invisible visible—to read the geological story hidden deep beneath the surface.

Alongside the surveys came changes in policy. The Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy opened previously unexplored areas to competitive bidding. In 2019, exploration blocks were awarded, including a deepwater block to ONGC. The pieces of a much larger puzzle were slowly falling into place.

Then, after years of waiting, came the moment everyone involved in exploration hopes for.

In January 2024, ONGC announced the Utkal and Konark gas discoveries in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin. The discoveries brought new attention to a part of Odisha's coastline that had for years been associated more with beaches, fishing and tourism than with offshore energy.

Yet discovery was not the destination.

On July 25, 2026, ONGC began India's first deepwater appraisal well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin under the Samudra Manthan Mission. The question now is whether the discoveries can ultimately prove commercially viable.

And that is perhaps the most human part of this story.

For a decade, people worked with maps, seismic data, machines and possibilities. They pursued something they could not see, beneath waters they could not easily read, hoping that the evidence would eventually speak for itself.
Also Read: Here's How Dharmendra Pradhan’s Tenure As Union Minister Put Odisha’s Mahanadi Basin On Exploration Map

If the discoveries are commercially developed, the consequences could reach far beyond the drilling rigs—bringing investment, employment, industrial activity and new revenue opportunities to Odisha, while adding another dimension to the state's economic identity.

A decade ago, the story began with an office.

Today, it has reached the deep sea.

And somewhere beneath those waters, Odisha's next chapter may already be waiting to be written.