The Mahanadi River: Geography, Key Features, and Deepwater Exploration

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Key takeaways

ONGC has launched deepwater exploratory drilling at well MN-DW18-1-H-D in the offshore Mahanadi basin under the Samudra Manthan mission.
The Mahanadi River originates in the Sihawa hills of Chhattisgarh and flows 900 km (560 miles) across Chhattisgarh and Odisha into the Bay of Bengal.
Its total drainage basin covers 1,32,100 sq km across five Indian states.
The Hirakud Dam on the river creates a 55 km long reservoir and stands as one of the longest earthen dams in the world.

ONGC has started drilling its first deepwater exploratory well named MN-DW18-1-H-D in the offshore Mahanadi basin.
This offshore drilling activity forms part of the Central Government's Samudra Manthan mission, which is officially called the National Deep Water Exploration Mission.

The name Mahanadi translates to Great River in Sanskrit, and it serves as a key peninsular river system in east-central India.
The river runs for a total distance of 900 km (560 miles) and drains a catchment region spanning over 1,32,100 sq km.
It is widely recognized for its heavy silt deposits and its vast delta network along the Bay of Bengal.

The river originates in the Sihawa hill range located in the Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh.
It flows north through the Chhattisgarh plain, turns east into Odisha, cuts across the Eastern Ghats via a dense gorge, and enters the Bay of Bengal at False Point near Paradip.
The main stream flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Its catchment basin also spreads across smaller areas of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra.

The river receives water from tributaries like the Seonath (Shivnath), Hasdeo, Mand, and Ib on its left bank, and the Jonk, Ong, and Tel on its right bank.
It houses the Hirakud Dam near Sambalpur in Odisha, which features a 55 km long reservoir that controls downstream floods and generates electricity.
Near Cuttack, it divides into major distributaries like the Kathjodi and Birupa to form a fertile coastal delta filled with farmland and mangroves.
Centuries of river discharge have formed deep sedimentary deposits in the offshore Mahanadi Basin, turning it into a major zone for oil and natural gas exploration.

The MN-DW18-1-H-D well advances the Samudra Manthan mission by exploring ultra-deepwater energy reserves awarded under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
Finding oil and gas in the Mahanadi Basin will boost domestic energy output, lower reliance on foreign imports, and strengthen national energy independence.