- Union Cabinet approved the ₹84,084 crore Samudra Manthan scheme through FY 2030-31.
- Government will support up to 50% of eligible costs for deepwater exploration wells.
- Mission envisages drilling 60 deepwater wells and developing common offshore infrastructure.
- Scheme aims to raise domestic oil and gas production to 80 MMTOE annually.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 1st Aug: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the ₹84,084 crore ‘Samudra Manthan’ National Offshore Exploration Scheme, aimed at accelerating deepwater exploration, increasing domestic oil and gas production and strengthening India’s long-term energy security.
The Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will be implemented through FY 2030-31 and has been described by the government as India’s most ambitious offshore exploration mission to date.
The scheme seeks to translate recent hydrocarbon sector reforms into mission-mode exploration, particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater basins such as Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi and the Andaman region.
India is the world’s third-largest crude oil consumer and has an annual crude import bill of nearly $144 billion, or approximately ₹13 lakh crore. With energy demand expected to rise, the government said boosting domestic production was critical to reducing import dependence and strengthening energy resilience.
Under Samudra Manthan, the government will provide financial support of up to 50% of the cost of drilling deepwater exploration wells, seeking to reduce risks for explorers and attract greater investment.
A single deepwater exploratory well can cost approximately $125-150 million, according to the government.
The scheme has allocated ₹43,200 crore for drilling 60 deepwater exploration wells, with government support capped at 50% of eligible drilling costs or ₹675 crore per well, whichever is lower.
Another ₹28,534 crore has been allocated for offshore data acquisition and processing. This includes 2D and 3D seismic surveys, reprocessing of National Data Repository data and implementation of artificial intelligence tools.
The government has earmarked ₹10,000 crore for common offshore infrastructure hubs to facilitate the commercialisation of discoveries and ₹2,000 crore for Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zones to promote domestic production of critical equipment and services.
An additional ₹350 crore has been provided for digital interventions, monitoring, evaluation, human resources and outreach activities.
Subject to successful exploration, Samudra Manthan aims to increase India’s domestic oil and gas production from around 62 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) to 80 MMTOE annually.
The mission also targets expanding India’s hydrocarbon resource base from 1.6 billion tonnes of oil equivalent to 2.2 billion tonnes.
The additional domestic production could potentially reduce India’s crude oil imports by nearly ₹1 lakh crore annually, according to the government.
The scheme builds on reforms undertaken since 2014, including opening more than 99% of previously restricted offshore areas, modernising contractual and regulatory frameworks and placing greater emphasis on exploration by ONGC and Oil India.
The government said Samudra Manthan would combine improved seismic data, exploration risk-sharing, common infrastructure and domestic manufacturing to build India’s deepwater exploration capabilities and reduce long-term dependence on imported energy.
