India Eyes Offshore Energy Partnership With Norway

New Delhi, July 9 (KNN) India is looking to collaborate with Norwegian companies on offshore energy technologies as it gears up to explore over 2.5 lakh square kilometres under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round-10, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced. 

In a post on X, Puri highlighted the country's aim to build a comprehensive deepwater exploration and production (E&P) technology ecosystem.

"As India plans to explore over 2.5 lakh sq kms in OALP Round-10 in one of the largest offshore exploration bidding rounds globally, we are trying to develop a full E&P deepwater technology ecosystem in India, under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi," Puri said on X.

During a visit to Bergen, Norway, Puri participated in a high-level roundtable with members of the Offshore Energy Cluster, where he held extensive discussions on a broad range of deep-sea hydrocarbon technologies. 

The dialogue included topics such as well services, subsea operations, high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) wells, submersible rigs, well completion, drillships, monitoring, and maintenance technologies.

“The discussions with Norwegian energy professionals covered the entire gamut of hydrocarbon exploration, particularly deep-sea exploration,” Puri stated.

India has been steadily expanding its OALP bidding rounds to stimulate upstream investment and bolster domestic oil and gas production, especially from frontier regions and offshore deepwater basins. 

The government’s engagement with Norway — a global leader in offshore technology — is aimed at leveraging advanced capabilities to support India’s energy security and self-reliance goals.

(KNN Bureau)