Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Shell Energy India Private Ltd have signed a non-binding MoU to explore joint opportunities in deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas exploration. According to reports from The Times of India, the agreement was signed on August 10, 2026 and provides a framework for the two companies to assess potential areas of cooperation across India's energy sector. The MoU does not commit either company to any specific investment or project, maintaining flexibility for future collaboration decisions. As per ONGC, the collaboration is intended to create synergies across the energy value chain and support deeper exploration, greater energy availability and India's long-term energy security. The agreement comes as India simultaneously seeks to unlock more of its domestic hydrocarbon resources and secure additional LNG supplies to meet rising energy demand.
ONGC has now issued EOI No. ONGC/Drillship/EOI/2026/01 to explore the global market for a specialist broking consultant for deepwater drillship acquisition or joint-venture formation. According to a notice published by ONGC, the company is seeking global expressions of interest from rig-broking and offshore advisory firms with experience for a possible drillship acquisition or joint venture. The move is aimed at assessing the global vendor landscape of specialist rig-broking and advisory firms, with the selected consultant helping ONGC develop objective pre-qualification criteria and technical and financial scoring parameters for a subsequent competitive tender. Importantly, ONGC has clarified that participation in the EOI may become a prerequisite for participation in the subsequent competitive tender, subject to final tender conditions, though submitting an EOI will not create any right to an award, empanelment, shortlisting or appointment.
ONGC has scheduled an online pre-submission meeting for August 17, 2026, while the last date for submission of the EOI is August 25, 2026. Interested firms have been asked to submit their responses in electronic PDF/PPT format, with ONGC stating that any corrigenda, addenda, amendments or extensions relating to the EOI will be published on its official portals. The EOI itself does not represent a final acquisition order or joint-venture agreement, as any investment or acquisition decision would depend on the subsequent tender process and final commercial and technical evaluations. The development comes as ONGC shares trade marginally higher, with the stock trading at ₹240.28 on NSE, up 0.18% from the previous close of ₹239.84 as of 11:17 am on August 11, 2026.
The second area of cooperation under the MoU focuses on LNG sourcing opportunities to support India's transition towards a stronger gas-based economy. According to The Times of India, the collaboration seeks to create new synergies across the energy value chain, supporting deeper exploration, greater energy availability and India's long-term energy security. India has been seeking to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix while expanding access to reliable and diversified supplies. LNG imports are expected to remain important as domestic gas production alone may not meet rising demand from sectors such as fertilisers, city gas, power and industry. The proposed collaboration therefore brings together ONGC's position as India's largest oil and gas explorer and Shell's international expertise across upstream exploration and LNG, potentially creating opportunities for cooperation across both domestic exploration and gas supply. India has been expanding its LNG supplier base as part of efforts to reduce exposure to geopolitical and supply-chain risks, with the country currently sourcing LNG from 15 countries, compared with six previously.
