ONGC Races Against Time: A New Era in Oil Exploration

Arun Kumar Singh, ONGC's Chairman, warns that the future of oil exploration depends on drastically reducing exploration timelines. Technological advancements and industry collaboration are crucial as ONGC faces financial and technical challenges. The company aims to transform exploration from a decade-long process to just a few years.

Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has issued a stark warning about the future of oil exploration. At the 6th South Asian Geoscience Conference & Exhibition, he highlighted that ONGC's traditional exploration process takes nearly a decade, posing a threat to its survival.

Singh stressed the need to reduce the exploration cycle to just one year. Technological giants like Microsoft and advancements in artificial intelligence are already helping speed up processes that once took months. However, ONGC plans to innovate by learning from industries like space exploration, adapting advanced and costly processors to improve efficiency.

With deep-water drilling requiring precision at depths reaching 10 billion feet, any misstep could mean starting from scratch. As Singh pointed out, the sector might not survive without breakthroughs in the next few years. ONGC is banking on partnerships and rapid innovation to keep pace in this high-stakes race.

(With inputs from agencies.)