ONGC plans $33 bln capital spend for 2012/17

NEW DELHI Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp plans to spend 1.64 trillion rupees ($33 billion) on capital expenditure in the five years starting April 2012, Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva said on Wednesday.

Almost 97 percent of the capex will be spent on exploration and production, Vasudeva told reporters. The company plans to produce 277 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas, nearly 40 million tonnes more than the previous five years.

ONGC, which has been investing heavily to maintain output from its old fields, has said it aims to raise its crude oil production by 15 percent by March 2014.

ONGC accounts for about 63 percent of India's oil.

($1=49.6 rupees) (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Rajesh Pandathil)