ONGC has spent decades drilling for hydrocarbons. Now it’s applying that same skill to something with zero carbon output.
Puga, Ladakh (India CSR): The site sits at over 14,000 feet. Two tectonic plates meet right beneath it. And now, ONGC’s engineers have done something no drilling crew in India has done before. They’ve finished two deep geothermal wells. Each one runs close to a kilometre underground. Together, they mark the site of what could become India’s first working geothermal power plant.
Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Vinai Kumar Saxena visited Puga on Friday. He unveiled a plaque to mark the completion of wells GT#02 and GT#03. ONGC Energy Centre drilled both. It was a small ceremony. But it points to something much bigger. Puga has been talked about as a geothermal site for decades. This is the closest India has come to making that talk real.
The wells, and what it took to drill them
Each well goes down about 1,000 metres. That depth isn’t unusual for oil and gas work on flat land. But Puga isn’t flat land. The air is thin. The ground is unstable. Geothermal activity makes the subsurface hard to predict. Drilling here is a different kind of problem.
The first well was finished in May 2026. The second one started in early June. It was completed just over a month later. Engineers are calling that pace a record for the site.
Testing is underway now. The goal is to check whether the wells can hold enough heat to run something real. Specifically, a 1 MW pilot plant is planned for Puga. If the numbers work, the next step is scaling up.
The Lieutenant Governor praised the engineering teams after the ceremony. He said they pushed through harsh weather and difficult ground. He also said the project could help Ladakh’s development more broadly. Not just power. The economic effects that tend to follow reliable energy.
It’s not only about electricity
Power generation is the obvious pitch. But there’s more to the story. Geothermal heat can do things beyond electricity. It can warm buildings through Ladakh’s brutal winters. No fuel needs to be burned for that. It can also heat greenhouses. That matters in a place where growing seasons are short. There’s talk of food processing too. And geotourism, built around the hot springs already scattered across the valley.
Right now, Ladakh trucks in most of its fuel. It leans on diesel generators once winter sets in and the passes ice over. A working geothermal plant would change that picture. It also fits Ladakh’s broader goal of becoming carbon-neutral. That goal pairs Puga with a large solar project elsewhere in the Changthang region. Officials say local nomadic communities’ livelihoods will be protected as both projects grow.
The energy security case
This part rarely makes the headlines. Puga sits in one of the most sensitive border areas in India. Power there has always meant diesel. Trucks haul it over mountain passes. Those passes close for months each year. The grid connections aren’t much better. They run through terrain prone to landslides and extreme weather. That’s a fragile setup for a region with heavy military presence. Civilian populations need power exactly when winter makes everything else unreliable.
Geothermal sidesteps most of that risk. It doesn’t need sunlight, so winter and darkness don’t matter. Solar struggles here for that exact reason. It doesn’t need fuel convoys either, unlike diesel. Once a plant is running, the heat source just sits there, underground. It doesn’t care what’s happening on the surface. For a border region, that’s rare. A power source that isn’t hostage to supply lines or weather.
The same logic scales up nationally. Every megawatt India generates at home reduces its need to import fuel. It also reduces exposure to global price swings. Puga is only a 1 MW pilot for now. But if the geology cooperates, the techniques used here could travel. Other spots across the Himalayan belt share similar geology. One test site could become a template for several more.
Who’s actually running this
Three partners are behind the project. ONGC Energy Centre, the Ladakh UT administration, and LAHDC-Leh. They work under a five-year agreement. It was renewed just last month. The working season at this altitude is short. Logistics are hard. That five-year commitment matters almost as much as any single well.
Several officials attended Friday’s event. Administrative Secretary Himanshu Gupta was there. So was Secretary to the LG, Shashanka Ala. Deputy Commissioner of Changthang Nitish Rajora attended too. As did Superintendent of Police Abbas Jaffari. ONGC’s Director for Technology and Field Services, Vikram Saxena, spoke for the company. He called the well completions proof of ONGC’s push toward innovation. And toward a more sustainable energy mix. That’s a notable line from a company built on oil and gas for over sixty years.
What’s next
There’s an interesting subtext here. ONGC has spent decades drilling for hydrocarbons. Now it’s applying that same skill to something with zero carbon output. If Puga works, India joins a short list of countries. Countries that run geothermal power at this kind of altitude. It would also answer a real question for ONGC. Does its drilling expertise translate beyond fossil fuels? Puga could be the proof.
For now, the wells are done. Testing has begun. The bigger test is still ahead. Can the reservoir beneath Puga sustain a working power plant? That answer will take time. But two deep wells, drilled on schedule, in one of the toughest environments on Earth — that’s a strong start. Stronger than many expected this soon.
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Puga Geothermal Project: ONGC Completes India’s First Deep Geothermal Wells
Why in the News
On 17 July 2026, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena, marked the completion of two deep geothermal wells — GT#02 and GT#03 — at the Puga Geothermal Project in Ladakh’s Changthang region. The wells were drilled by ONGC Energy Centre and take India a step closer to commissioning its first demonstration-scale geothermal power plant.
About the Puga Geothermal Project
- Location: Puga Valley, Changthang region, Ladakh, at an altitude of over 14,000 feet.
- Geology: Puga lies in a zone of active tectonic convergence and is known for hot springs and surface geothermal manifestations, making it one of India’s most promising geothermal sites.
- Implementing agency: ONGC Energy Centre, in partnership with the UT Administration of Ladakh and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, under a five-year collaboration renewed in June 2026.
- Scale: A 1 MW demonstration-scale pilot plant, intended as proof of concept before any commercial-scale expansion.
- Wells completed: GT#02 and GT#03, each drilled to a depth of approximately 1,000 metres. The first well was completed in May 2026; the second in early July 2026.
- Current status: Reservoir testing is underway to assess whether well temperatures are sufficient to sustain power generation.
Significance
1. Energy security in a strategic border region
Ladakh’s power supply has historically depended on diesel transported over high-altitude passes that remain closed for several winter months, and on grid connections vulnerable to landslides and extreme weather. A domestically generated, weather-independent power source reduces this vulnerability in a Union Territory bordering sensitive frontiers, lowering dependence on fuel logistics for both civilian and strategic infrastructure.
2. Round-the-clock and seasonal reliability
Unlike solar power, which is constrained in Ladakh’s harsh winters and non-generating after dark, geothermal energy offers baseload, round-the-clock supply unaffected by daylight or season — a critical advantage for a region facing sub-zero winters for several months each year.
3. Diversification of India’s renewable energy mix
India’s clean energy portfolio has so far been dominated by solar and wind. Geothermal, though a small contributor globally, adds a stable, weather-independent renewable source and diversifies the country’s energy basket, supporting long-term Net Zero commitments.
4. Direct-use applications and local development
Beyond electricity, geothermal heat has applications in space heating, greenhouse-based agriculture, food processing and geotourism — relevant to Ladakh’s short growing season and its stated goal of becoming a carbon-neutral Union Territory.
5. Technological self-reliance
The project demonstrates that ONGC’s deep-drilling expertise, built over decades of hydrocarbon exploration, can be redirected toward zero-carbon applications — relevant to India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat objectives in the energy sector.
Challenges
- Geological uncertainty: Reservoir temperature and sustainability are still under evaluation; commercial viability is not yet confirmed.
- High-altitude logistics: Extreme cold, thin air and a short working season constrain construction timelines and raise costs.
- Scale limitations: At 1 MW, the pilot is small; scaling up will require further investment and technological validation.
- Ecological sensitivity: Changthang is home to nomadic pastoral communities and fragile high-altitude ecosystems, requiring careful environmental and livelihood safeguards as the project expands.
Way Forward
- Complete reservoir testing to determine long-term power generation feasibility.
- Explore replication of geothermal drilling expertise at other geologically active Himalayan sites.
- Integrate geothermal capacity with existing renewable projects in Ladakh, such as large-scale solar development in the Changthang area, to build a diversified, resilient regional grid.
- Ensure local community participation and livelihood protection as the project scales.
Prelims Pointers
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project name | Puga Geothermal Project |
| Location | Puga Valley, Changthang, Ladakh |
| Altitude | Over 14,000 feet |
| Implementing agency | ONGC Energy Centre |
| Partners | UT Administration of Ladakh, LAHDC-Leh |
| Wells completed | GT#02, GT#03 |
| Well depth | ~1,000 metres each |
| Pilot capacity | 1 MW |
| Significance | India’s first demonstration-scale geothermal power project |
