New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is expanding its exploration horizon beyond hydrocarbons, venturing into rare earth minerals and helium prospects as part of its long-term strategy to strengthen India's energy security and support decarbonisation goals, a senior official said.
The company is aligning deeper domestic exploration with diversification into new resources critical for the energy transition, O P Sinha, Director (Exploration), ONGC Limited, told ANI on Thursday. "The reality is that our energy consumption is rising exponentially, and domestic exploration must play a much bigger role in meeting this demand," said Sinha in an exclusive interview with ANI.
"We are exploring new areas, including rare earth minerals, and have initiated discussions with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to leverage their expertise. This will help India build resilience for the future," he said on the sidelines of the Energy Security Conference 2025.
To ensure a secure, resilient, and self-reliant supply chain of critical minerals essential for the country's economic development, national security, and transition to a clean energy future, the government of India has launched National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) this year.
Sinha said ONGC has already detected traces of helium in some of its gas wells and is studying how to harness these valuable elements efficiently.
"We are working on how to exploit or take advantage of the helium that we are finding in our existing oil and gas wells," he explained. These initiatives, he said, are part of ONGC's broader vision to integrate traditional exploration with new-age resources vital for renewable technologies, electric mobility, and clean energy storage.
While expanding into critical minerals, ONGC remains focused on strengthening its domestic oil and gas exploration footprint. Sinha noted that the company is intensifying activity in deeper and frontier areas to address India's growing demand. "We need to be more aggressive -- not only in activity but also in adopting new technologies and forming collaborations. This will help us cut costs, compress timelines, and deliver faster results," he said. (ANI)
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