According to sources, the state owned ONGC is in talks with America's ExxonMobil and other global players for a partnership. The company is eyeing to defend other major players like Norway's Statoil and Brazil's Petrobras etc. Both the companies are specialist in deep-sea production technologies and have decided to refrain from block KG-DWN-98/2.

The ONGC project is expected to come at the Krishna Godavari block of the company on the east coast of India and also being proposed to commence producing gas in the year 2015-16. Apart from that it is looking to fix a price higher than $4.20 per million British thermal unit for its products.

Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC, Mr. R. S. Sharma has informed that the company is in discussion with number of companies. ONGC director (finance) Dinesh K. Sarraf has said that the company interested to take advantage of the partnering firm's technology. The basis technology needed is to produce gas from ultra deep sea. Moreover so far as financial aspects are concerned, the firm should share the risk with ONGC as per Sarraf.