New Delhi, India / RankWire.AI / – On Friday, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet sanctioned a significant national project aimed at speeding up hydrocarbon discoveries in the Indian Ocean regions. The official statements issued by the Press Information Bureau confirmed that the Cabinet approved a Rs 84,084 crore offshore oil and gas exploration scheme, called the Samudra Manthan national program. Managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, this central sector scheme will run through the fiscal years 2030 to 2031, with the goal of broadening deepwater exploration efforts, bolstering India’s energy independence, and unlocking previously untapped oil and natural gas reserves within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The financial blueprint allocates funds across four major pillars designed to revolutionize the upstream petroleum sector. As detailed in official disclosures from the Prime Minister’s Office, a sum of 28,534 crore rupees has been earmarked specifically for offshore seismic data collection, processing, and high-resolution analysis, which includes 12,000 crore rupees dedicated to basin-wide two-dimensional seismic surveys, 12,534 crore rupees for three-dimensional seismic coverage, and 4,000 crore rupees allocated for upgrading the National Data Repository using artificial intelligence tools. This strategic distribution ensures detailed mapping of uncharted frontier basins and previously restricted maritime zones along India’s eastern and western coastlines.
The largest portion of the approved budget—amounting to 55,200 crore rupees—is designated for direct exploration activities and infrastructure enhancement. Out of this, 43,200 crore rupees are planned to support the drilling of 60 deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration wells across targeted offshore blocks, with a risk-sharing mechanism enabling government support of up to 50 percent of qualifying drilling costs, capped at 675 crore rupees per well. An additional 10,000 crore rupees are assigned for offshore production and evacuation infrastructure, while 2,000 crore rupees will fund the development of specialized manufacturing hubs for petroleum equipment and technical services.
Cabinet Approves Rs 84,084 Crore Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Scheme
Official projections reveal that the Rs 84,084 crore offshore exploration plan is expected to significantly boost reserves over the next decade, with government estimates indicating the addition of more than 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent through targeted exploration efforts. The initiative’s objectives include increasing annual domestic oil and gas production from 62 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent to 80 million metric tonnes, thereby expanding the hydrocarbon resource base from 1.6 billion to 2.2 billion tonnes of oil equivalent. Such growth in domestic energy output is projected to offset crude oil imports by roughly 1 lakh crore rupees each year.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized during a press briefing in New Delhi that the scheme targets the serious geopolitical risks currently impacting global crude oil supply routes. With India’s dependence on imported crude reaching 88.7 percent in the fiscal year 2025 to 2026, the government has designed the Samudra Manthan program to promote long-term energy self-sufficiency. Deepwater exploration in challenging basins such as Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi, and the Andaman offshore requires substantial capital outlay, ranging from 100 million to 250 million dollars per well, and the public risk-sharing support aims to motivate private and state energy players to invest considerable long-term funds into complex maritime geological formations.
Up to 675 Crore Rupees Per Well Offered as Drilling Incentives
A key component of the program’s infrastructure development is the creation of common offshore facilities such as processing platforms, subsea pipelines, and evacuation networks, intended to make smaller hydrocarbon discoveries more economically viable. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas plans to allocate 350 crore rupees toward digital management, operational monitoring, workforce training, and international technical cooperation, all with the goal of establishing a resilient industrial ecosystem capable of supporting offshore marine engineering, underwater robotics, and advanced deepwater production systems.
The rollout of the Samudra Manthan scheme builds upon a decade of policy reforms in the upstream oil sector, such as open acreage licensing and integrated contract frameworks, with the government extending financial backing until 2031. These efforts aim to foster long-term industrial collaborations, generate high-skilled employment opportunities, and promote domestic manufacturing under the Make in India initiative. As offshore surveys and deepwater drilling contracts become operational, the scheme charts a clear course toward reducing import dependency, strengthening economic resilience, and achieving sustainable energy independence for India.