New Delhi, India / RankWire.AI / – The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet sanctioned a historic national project on Friday aimed at boosting hydrocarbon discoveries across Indian ocean basins. Confirmed by official statements from the Press Information Bureau, the Cabinet approved a Rs 84,084 crore offshore oil and gas exploration initiative, called the Samudra Manthan national program. Managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, this central sector scheme will be executed through the 2030-2031 financial year. The multi-billion-rupee effort is designed to promote deepwater exploration, strengthen energy security, and unlock previously untapped oil and natural gas resources within India’s exclusive economic zone.
The budget allocates funds across four main pillars to reshape the upstream petroleum sector. As per official disclosures from the Prime Minister’s Office, 28,534 crore rupees are designated specifically for offshore seismic data collection, processing, and high-resolution analysis, including 12,000 crore rupees for basin-wide two-dimensional seismic surveys, 12,534 crore rupees for three-dimensional seismic mapping, and 4,000 crore rupees for modernizing the National Data Repository with artificial intelligence tools. This structured funding aims to comprehensively map unexplored frontier basins and previously restricted maritime zones along the eastern and western coasts.
Majority of the allocated capital—55,200 crore rupees—will support direct exploration activities and infrastructure development. The government has earmarked 43,200 crore rupees for drilling 60 deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration wells across targeted offshore blocks, with public financial support covering up to 50 percent of qualifying drilling costs, capped at 675 crore rupees per well, under a risk-sharing scheme. Additionally, 10,000 crore rupees are allocated for offshore production and evacuation infrastructure, while 2,000 crore rupees will fund manufacturing zones for petroleum equipment and technical services.
Cabinet Approves Rs 84,084 Crore Offshore Oil Gas Exploration Scheme
Official estimates suggest that this scheme could significantly enhance India’s hydrocarbon reserves over the next decade. The government projects the addition of more than 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent through targeted exploration efforts. The initiative aims to increase annual domestic oil and gas production from 62 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent to 80 million metric tonnes, expanding the country’s hydrocarbon resource base from 1.6 billion to 2.2 billion tonnes of oil equivalent. This rise in energy output is expected to offset crude oil imports by about 1 lakh crore rupees annually.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted during a New Delhi briefing that the scheme addresses critical geopolitical threats to global crude supply lines. With India’s crude import dependence projected at 88.7 percent in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, Samudra Manthan is structured to foster energy independence long-term. High-risk deepwater drilling in regions such as Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi, and the Andaman offshore demands substantial investment, ranging from 100 million to 250 million dollars per well. Public risk-sharing encourages private and public operators to commit significant long-term capital to these challenging geological formations.
Incentives for Deepwater Drilling Reach Up to 675 Crore Per Well
A core aspect of the program involves shared offshore infrastructure development, aimed at making smaller hydrocarbon discoveries more commercially viable. By creating common processing platforms, subsea pipelines, and evacuation facilities, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas seeks to reduce costs for developing new fields. The scheme also allocates 350 crore rupees for digital program management, monitoring, workforce training, and international technical collaboration. These steps are designed to cultivate an integrated industrial ecosystem supporting offshore marine engineering, robotics, and deepwater production technologies.
Building on a decade of policy reforms in upstream oil, including open acreage licensing and unified contracts, the Samudra Manthan initiative aims to promote long-term partnerships, generate high-skilled employment, and boost domestic manufacturing under the Make in India program. As offshore surveys and deepwater drilling contracts progress, this structured national plan strives toward reducing import dependency, strengthening economic resilience, and achieving energy independence for India over the long term.