India's Hydrocarbon Outlook – 2022-2023

96 DGH: 3 DECADES OF UNLOCKING INDIA'S HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL Background Oil and Gas Industry is one of the most data-rich industries and upstreamdata, that is, Exploration & Production (E&P) data is a significant part of it. Historical and new data have always been crucial to the success of any E&P venture. Throughout the E&P lifecycle, a significant amount of data is continuously generated during the planning, exploration, field development, and management phases. The industry has recognized the importance of leveraging data for making key business decisions from the early days of exploration. India has a rich history of E&P activity dating back to the 19th century. Methodical E&P activity began after the first commercially successful well was discovered in Digboi, Assam, in 1889. The discovery of the first oil well in independent India was made by Assam Oil Company Limited (AOC) in Nahorkatiya in 1953, followed by Moran in 1956, both in upper Assam. AOC was later incorporated into Oil India Private Limited in 1959, which became Oil India Limited as a PSU (in 1981) to increase the pace of exploration in Assam. In 1959, the Government set up Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), which intensified and spread exploration to various parts of the country. ONGC systematically started geophysical surveys in other sedimentary basins considered prospective, resulting in the discovery of the Ankleshwar oil field in Gujarat in 1960. Offshore exploration in India was initiated with the experimental seismic survey in the Gulf of Cambay in 1962 and later in the western offshore. Detailed seismic surveys in the western offshore resulted in the discovery of a giant structure in Bombay Offshore in 1972-73, later termed as Bombay High Field. ONGC and OIL generated considerable amounts of E&P data through geoscientific surveys and drilling, making them the earliest dominant players in the Indian E&P Data - Growth Engine of E&P Industry 3 96