ONGC to seek partners for OPaL stake sale soon

ONGC to soon issue EoI to dilute stake in petchem arm OPaL

• ONGC plans to dilute its stake in OPaL via global tender
• OPaL left Dahej SEZ, restructured capital, and boosted operational performance
• ONGC to develop 50-55 MW small modular reactors for captive power use

Did our AI summary help?

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp is looking to offload stakes from its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC Petro Additions (OPaL) and is expected to come out with a global Expression of Interest (EoI) soon, a company’s top official said.

“OPaL has become our subsidiary, and we have been mandated to dilute our stake in it by 2030 and bring it back to a JV structure through a global tender. We are looking for partners for offloading of shares. We hope to come out with an expression of interest calling interested parties shortly, though we have time till 2030, which is the asset monetisation deadline set by the government,” Arunangshu Sarkar, director—strategy & corporate affairs, ONGC, said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week.

ONGC owns 95.69% stake in OPaL while GAIL (India) Limited holds 4.19% stake and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) another 0.12%. OPaL has a petrochemical complex in Dahej in Gujarat and has a capacity to produce 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of polymers and 0.5 mmtpa of chemicals.

In 2025, OPaL received the final approval for its exit from the Dahej Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and operate as a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) unit in order to cater to the domestic market.

Recognizing its long-term potential and to address OPaL’s financial challenges, ONGC undertook a capital restructuring of Rs 18,365 crore and exited from SEZ area.

In parallel, to ensure feedstock stability and reduce reliance on volatile LNG markets, the government had approved allocation of up to 3.2 MMSCM/day of gas from new wells. “These interventions are poised to significantly enhance OPaL’s operational performance and sustainability, positioning it as a value-accretive asset in ONGC’s integrated energy portfolio,” the company had said in its annual report FY25.

The company sold 1785 KT of petchem products during FY25 against 1769 KT during FY24, while its revenue from operations stood at Rs 14,804 crore during FY25 compared to Rs 14,307 crore during FY24, as per ONGC’s annual report for 2024-25.

The director said that the upstream major has further planned to develop 50-55 MW (megawatt) of small modular reactors for its own captive use.

“Already we have done EoI (Expression of Interest) and all. We have received a lot of interest. We are planning for 50-55 MW of SMRs that will be used as captive power in our own plants,” Sarkar said.

When asked about the company’s plans in LNG sourcing, Sarkar said that the company is targeting both term and spot purchases of gas.

The company through its joint venture with Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL), has recently signed Ship Building Contracts (SBCs) with Samsung Heavy Industries, South Korea, for the construction of two Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs).

Speaking on the development, Sarkar said that the agreement will ensure regular supply of ethane after Qatar stops supplying rich gas (ethane and propane) starting 2028.

The capacity of each carrier is expected to be 50 kilo tonnes and will be developed by 2028, Sarkar said. The vessels are expected to transport about 600 KTPA of ethane for OPaL.