ONGC's lucky mascot
India's multinational oil and gas firm bought its first offshore rig in 1973. Since then, the Sagar Samrat has become a stalwart for the country's oil output
In the early 1950s, when India was still wrestling with post-independence teething troubles, finding oil was urgent. Prophets of doom-particularly those among western experts-were many, all too ready to write off Indian sedimentary basins as devoid of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) was set up in August 1956 as a national oil company amid this widespread scepticism. The organisation set about disproving the many gloomy predictions, and made its first discovery in Cambay in September 1958. It followed up with another find in Ankleshwar in May 1960. The hat-trick was completed when oil was struck near Rudrasagar in Assam in December of the same year. India neede
Also in this section
24 December 2025
As activity in the US Gulf has stagnated at a lower level, the government is taking steps to encourage fresh exploration and bolster field development work
23 December 2025
The new government has brought stability and security to the country, with the door now open to international investment
23 December 2025
A third wave of LNG supply is coming, and with it a likely oversupply of the fuel by 2028
22 December 2025
Weakening climate resolve in the developed world and rapidly growing demand in developing countries means peak oil is still a long way away
