New Delhi: Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has plans to invest around Rs 2 lakh crore on green energy projects, including renewable energy and green hydrogen, and towards cutting gas flaring to zero, a 200-page decarbonisation roadmap released by ONGC on Tuesday shows. The Maharatna oil and gas major is aiming to become net zero by 2038. The document details the company’s plans for achieving net zero emissions by the said deadline.
“ONGC will invest Rs 97,000 crore by 2030 in setting up 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, green hydrogen, biogas, pump storage plant and offshore wind project,” said the document. Another Rs 65,500 crore will be invested by 2035, mostly in a green hydrogen or green ammonia plant, and the remaining Rs 38,000 crore by 2038, primarily in setting up 1 GW of offshore wind projects. These projects will help the firm offset 9 million tonnes of carbon emissions it is directly (Scope-1 emissions) or indirectly (Scope-2 emissions) responsible for.
ONGC said it will invest Rs 5,000 crore to cut gas flaring to zero by 2030 through technological intervention. ONGC accounts for two-thirds of India’s total oil production and 58 percent of India’s gas production. The PSU released into the atmosphere 554 million cubic metres of methane in 2021-22 (base year), mostly because it was an incidental by-product of oil or the quantity was not economical enough to pipe it to consumers.
These projects will help the firm offset 9 million tonnes of carbon emissions it is directly (Scope-1 emissions) or indirectly (Scope-2 emissions) responsible for.
ONGC will spend Rs 30,000 crore in setting up 5 GW solar parks. It will also add 1 GW of solar and onshore wind capacity by 2035 and 2038 at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore each. It will invest Rs 40,000 crore by 2030 and a similar amount by 2035 to set up two 1,80,000 tonnes per annum green hydrogen and/or 1 million tonnes of green ammonia projects. ONGC, which has installations in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal to produce oil and gas from below the seabed, is also looking at installing offshore wind turbines to generate 0.5 GW of electricity by 2030 and double it by 2035. The first 0.5 GW offshore wind project is likely to cost Rs 12,500 crore and the next about Rs 12,000 crore.
By 2038, it will add another 1 GW of offshore wind energy capacity at an investment of Rs 25,000 crore, the document said. The company is also looking at investing Rs 20,000 crore for setting up 3 GW of pump storage plants to meet electricity requirements when renewable sources like sunlight and wind energy are not available. The remaining investment will be in biogas, carbon capture and other clean energy projects.
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