ONGC to Invest $24.2 Billion to Meet Net-zero Emissions Goal

India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plans to invest 2 trillion rupees ($24.17 billion) on clean energy projects in order to meet its 2038 net-zero carbon emissions goal, chairman Arun Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.

The company, which accounts for about two-thirds of India's oil production and about 58% of gas, is looking to boost its hydrocarbon output while strengthening its presence in the clean energy sector.

Globally, companies are investing billions of dollars to cut their emissions to net zero.

ONGC would invest 1 trillion rupees by 2030, when it hopes to own a 10 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, Singh said.

It is building a 5 gigawatts solar energy project in the desert state of Rajasthan and has plans to set up offshore wind energy plants.

"ONGC is also actively exploring collaborations with leading players to leverage various low carbon energy opportunities including renewables, green hydrogen, green ammonia and other derivatives of green hydrogen," Singh said earlier in the day at the shareholders meet.

The company is also scouting for a partner to set up a 1 million tonnes per year green ammonia project.

"We have financial muscle to invest both in hydrocarbon and new energy," Singh said while addressing the media. ONGC has the capability to raise up to 5 trillion rupees, he said.

ONGC aims to produce 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil from its deepwater block in the Krishna Godavari basin, off India's East Coast, from October-November this year and hopes to double it by March next year, it said in a presentation.

Oil output from the east coast block could rise to 45,000 bpd in 2024/25, it said. The company sees gas output of a 10 million cubic meters a day from the KG 98/2 block by May-June next year, it said.

($1 = 82.7497 Indian rupees)

(Reuters - Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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