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NEW DELHI: In a major push to strengthen long-term energy security, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 31, 2026, approved the National Offshore Exploration Scheme, known as ‘Samudra Manthan’.
The Central Sector Scheme under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas carries an outlay of ₹84,084 crore for implementation up to the financial year 2030-31.
The initiative draws its name and inspiration from the ancient mythological story of the churning of the ocean, symbolising the quest for hidden treasures.
It translates the Prime Minister’s vision, articulated from the Red Fort on Independence Day 2025, of undertaking a modern-day Samudra Manthan to unlock India’s vast but largely untapped offshore energy resources.
Why Offshore Exploration Matters Now
India remains the world’s third-largest oil consumer, yet domestic production from mature fields has been declining for years.
Crude oil import dependence rose from 78.5% in 2014-15 to around 88.7% in 2025-26, while overall oil and gas import dependence stood near 80.7%.
Domestic crude output fell from 36.9 million metric tonnes in 2015-16 to 28.7 million metric tonnes in 2024-25, even as demand continued to climb.
Many of India’s offshore sedimentary basins remain underexplored because deepwater and ultra-deepwater operations involve high costs, technical complexity and geological risk.
Samudra Manthan seeks to address these barriers through strategic public investment that reduces early-stage risks and creates enabling infrastructure.
Four Pillars of the Scheme
The programme adopts an integrated approach across the offshore exploration value chain. Its four main components are:
• Acquisition, processing and interpretation of modern high-quality offshore seismic data, with an outlay of ₹28,534 crore.
• Drilling of 60 deepwater exploration wells, allocated ₹43,200 crore, including government support of up to 50% of eligible drilling cost or ₹675 crore per well, whichever is lower.
• Development of common offshore infrastructure hubs for production and evacuation, budgeted at ₹10,000 crore, to help commercialise discoveries more efficiently.
• Establishment of Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zones with ₹2,000 crore to promote domestic manufacturing and localisation of critical equipment and services.
Additional provisions cover digital programme management, capacity building, technology adoption, scientific drilling in frontier basins, stakeholder engagement and international outreach.
Expected Outcomes and Broader Impact
Subject to exploration success, the scheme aims to catalyse reserve accretion of over 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE).
It targets raising India’s annual domestic oil and gas production from around 62 MMTOE to 80 MMTOE and expanding the hydrocarbon resource base from 1.6 billion tonnes of oil equivalent to 2.2 billion TOE. Successful results could potentially reduce crude oil imports by nearly ₹1 lakh crore each year.
Beyond production gains, the initiative is expected to generate large-scale employment, stimulate private investment across the exploration and production value chain, strengthen indigenous manufacturing under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat frameworks, and help build a globally competitive ecosystem for offshore technologies and services.
The government statement described the approval as “a landmark step towards strengthening India’s energy security, accelerating domestic exploration and production, promoting technological leadership, and advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat.”
Building on Earlier Reforms
Over the past decade, the government has opened nearly the entire offshore acreage for exploration, modernised the legislative and contractual framework, and strengthened the National Data Repository.
Samudra Manthan moves from these policy reforms into mission-mode implementation through large-scale public investment, advanced technologies and shared infrastructure.
Industry observers note that high-quality seismic data and risk-sharing for deepwater wells can lower geological uncertainty and make future discoveries more viable, while common infrastructure can improve the economics of smaller or marginal finds.
Although commercial production from any new discoveries is still several years away, the scheme lays the foundation for systematic exploration and assessment of India’s offshore basins.
Over the long term, successful discoveries could reduce import dependence, strengthen the country’s energy security, and build lasting technological and industrial capabilities.
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