Bhubaneswar: A day after Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced a significant natural gas discovery in the deep waters of Mahanadi Offshore Basin, political brass cutting across party lines hailed the development, describing it as a milestone for both Odisha’s economy and India’s quest for energy security.Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Sambalpur MP and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik congratulated ONGC on the achievement, with each highlighting the potential of Odisha’s offshore resources to contribute to the country’s long-term energy needs.In a post on X, Majhi said the discovery linked Odisha’s natural heritage with India’s emerging energy ambitions. Describing Mahanadi as the state’s lifeline and a symbol of its prosperity, he said the encouraging flow from ONGC’s maiden deepwater well marked a significant step in India’s deepwater exploration journey.He said it opened new possibilities for harnessing offshore resources. “From the waters that have nourished Odisha for centuries, a new energy story is taking shape, carrying the promise of powering India’s tomorrow,” Majhi said, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for expanding the country’s exploration frontiers.Notably, the exploration push in Mahanadi basin gathered momentum under Dharmendra Pradhan, then minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, beginning with plans for seismic surveys announced in 2014, followed by the establishment of an ONGC office in Bhubaneswar in 2015 and the launch of National Seismic Programme in 2016.A key milestone came in Nov 2020 when Pradhan, in the role of Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, inaugurated Oil India Ltd’s Rs 220-crore seismic survey campaign in the basin, describing future oil and gas production as a potential game-changer for Odisha’s economy and a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.On the achievement, Pradhan said Mahanadi Basin has yielded encouraging news from the deep waters off Odisha, underscoring the immense potential of India’s offshore frontier. He said the recent development reflected the country’s growing capability in deepwater exploration.Opposition leader Naveen Patnaik also welcomed the discovery and said Odisha would strengthen the nation’s energy resilience while boosting economic growth in the region. “Glad to know that there is encouraging flow and reservoir pressure from the discovered wells,” he said.
