Oil & Natural Gas

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a state-owned integrated oil and gas company, deriving the vast majority of its revenue from the exploration, production, and refining of fossil fuels. Its operational emissions intensity is structurally high due to the carbon-intensive nature of its core business. The company’s reported Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions place it among the highest-emitting entities in the global oil and gas sector relative to its peers, with no public commitment to align its production targets with a 1.5°C pathway.

Recent regulatory actions highlight ongoing compliance issues. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with the company over violations of the Renewable Fuel Standard program. Furthermore, a 2024 Congressional investigation report on major oil and gas producers included evidence suggesting industry efforts to downplay the climate crisis, though ONGC’s specific role was not detailed. The company has not announced a comprehensive, time-bound plan to phase down its fossil fuel production or significantly decarbonize its operations.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) participates in two joint ventures with South Sudan's state oil company Nilepet amid an ongoing civil war in which petroleum resources are a primary driver of violence against civilians. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund's Council on Ethics recommended exclusion on January 8, 2021, finding "an unacceptable risk that the company is contributing to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict." Norges Bank excluded ONGC on September 2, 2021. The Council found that actors directly or indirectly responsible for grave violations provide services to the joint ventures and are responsible for security at the oil fields. Global Witness documented how Nilepet diverted over $80 million in oil revenue to government-allied forces implicated in atrocities between March 2014 and June 2015.