Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has issued a Notification of Award for the hiring of DDKG2 as the second ultra-deepwater drillship for its offshore exploration programme in India, with mobilisation expected within the next three to four months.
The unit corresponds to Transocean’s ultra-deepwater drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2. Transocean’s 4 May 2026 Fleet Status Report listed the 2010-built drillship in Brazil under a contract with Petrobras running from June 2024 to May 2026. The report showed a $452,000 dayrate and a primary hookload capacity of 1,000 short tons.
The same Transocean report did not list a follow-on contract for Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 after the Petrobras assignment. ONGC has not disclosed the value, dayrate or duration of the new award in the information released on the second drillship.
The additional unit is being brought into an offshore drilling programme that is already under way in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin. Drilling of the MN-DWN18-1-HD appraisal well began on 25 July 2026. The Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said the well is the first of four planned deepwater wells in the basin.
India is carrying out the wider offshore programme under Samudra Manthan, formally the National Offshore Exploration Scheme. The Indian Cabinet approved the scheme on 31 July 2026 with an outlay of ₹84,084 crore for implementation through FY 2030-31.
The scheme covers offshore seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation as well as accelerated deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling. It also includes scientific drilling in frontier basins and offshore production and evacuation infrastructure.
ONGC said its first rig under the campaign is already deployed in the Mahanadi Basin and drilling a deepwater well. The newly awarded DDKG2 is expected to be mobilised to India within the next three to four months.
