India's leading oil and natural gas producer, ONGC, has reportedly signed an agreement with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country's largest oil refining & fuel marketing company. The partnership aims to explore potential opportunities in the petrochemicals sector.

ONGC and IOC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly investigate downstream prospects, specifically in the field of petrochemicals. This partnership will identify potential greenfield projects and acquisition opportunities, cited a tweet shared by ONGC.

Notably, ONGC is responsible for two-thirds of India's oil production, which is refined into fuels like diesel and petrol, as well as over half of the country's gas production used for fertilizers and compressed natural gas (CNG). The firm already possesses two downstream petrochemical plants through its subsidiaries.

In response to the global shift towards low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen and electric-powered vehicles, oil companies worldwide are undergoing transformation and reinvention. The crude oil is refined in refineries to produce petrol and diesel. Now the focus is towards directly converting crude oil into petrochemicals, which serve as the fundamental components for various products like plastics, paints, detergents, and tires.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, India, reportedly mentioned at a conference that the Indian chemical market is estimated to reach USD 300 billion by the end of the decade, a significant increase from the current USD 178 billion. He further emphasized that India is expected to contribute over 10% to the global growth of the petrochemical industry.

The MoU was signed during a ceremony attended by ONGC's Executive Director for New Ventures, Deb Adhikari, and IOC's Executive Director for Petrochemicals, Arvindar Singh Sahney. ONGC shared an image of the signing ceremony on Twitter, which was retweeted by IOC.

Reliable sources cite that ONGC plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030 to enhance its petrochemical manufacturing capacity, as part of the government's broader objective to establish India as a major global petrochemical hub.

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