ONGC eyes 100-fold growth in new energy investment at Rs 1 lakh crore

Alongside 193 megawatts of solar and wind, ONGC wants to channel capital expenditure toward 25 compressed biogas plants, hydro projects, and 1 million tons of green ammonia, including 180,000 tons of green hydrogen capacity.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. aims to boost its investment in new energy projects like wind and solar power 100 times over by the end of the decade to cut its carbon footprint.

India's largest explorer wants to invest Rs 1 lakh crore ($11.5 billion) to build a renewables portfolio of 10 gigawatts by 2030, up from Rs 1,000 crore in the current fiscal year.

“We are getting into green energy because we do believe India requires lot more energy in addition to fossil fuels,” Vivek Chandrakant Tongaonkar, director of finance at the New Delhi-based, state-owned company said in an interview. “For us, it is a logical case to move into newer sources of energy.”

Globally, oil and gas majors like BP PLC and Equinor ASA are scaling back investments in clean energy due to low returns and shareholder pressure. India’s state-owned firms are doubling down on the same type of projects to ensure energy security for the world’s biggest and fastest-growing population.

Alongside 193 megawatts of solar and wind, ONGC wants to channel capital expenditure toward 25 compressed biogas plants, hydro projects, and 1 million tons of green ammonia, including 180,000 tons of green hydrogen capacity.

The company has already placed a tender to build 1 gigawatt of solar and wind power, Tongaonkar said. It is also on lookout for acquiring new energy plants to quickly scale up capacity, he added.

The oil and gas business generates enough cash flows to help ONGC fund its new energy business, and it will also raise debt for the projects, he added.