ONGC inks pact with SECI to develop renewable, ESG projects

In a bid to strengthen its footprint in the renewable space, particularly solar energy, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Thursday signed an agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to scale up its clean energy projects.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Subhash Kumar and SECI Managing Director Suman Sharma, a company statement said.

"The MoU provides a broad, overarching framework for ONGC and SECI to collaborate and cooperate for undertaking renewable energy projects including solar, wind, solar parks, EV value chain, green hydrogen, storage, etc," it said.

The partnership will enable ONGC to strengthen its footprint in renewables, especially solar.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar said: "While we appreciate the magnitude and urgency of the climate change challenge, we also understand our commitment towards energy security of the country and are committed to carrying out our business in a sustainable manner."

"ONGC has a multipronged strategy to make its green energy portfolio richer and has plans to progressively move towards carbon neutrality by effective carbon management and adding renewable energy capacity," he said.

Sharma said the pact will open new avenues of sustainable development and promises to take India to new frontiers of technology and scale.

ONGC has been pursuing green energy agenda through various alternatives and renewable sources of energy.

It has set a target of producing a minimum of 10 GW of renewable power by 2040 while continuing its focus on the core exploration and production (E&P) business.

SECI, a PSU under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is engaged in the promotion and development of various renewable energy resources, especially solar/wind energy and renewable energy-based storage systems.

ONGC's refining subsidiary MRPL and petrochemical units OPAL and OMPL use a large amount of power in the production process, which can be replaced by green energy and hydrogen.

"ONGC has cut down its carbon emission intensity by 13.67 per cent over the last five years as part of making its operations more sustainable through diverse emissions reduction initiatives," the statement said.

ONGC is also considering India's first 200-300 MW demonstration wind offshore power project for which feasibility study is carried out jointly with NTPC Ltd.