Cabinet Approves ₹84,008-Crore ‘Samudra Manthan’ to Boost Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

The Union Cabinet has approved Samudra Manthan, a ₹84,008-crore National Offshore Exploration Scheme aimed at accelerating offshore oil and natural gas exploration over the next five years. The initiative seeks to reduce India’s dependence on imported hydrocarbons by supporting deepwater drilling, seismic surveys, scientific exploration, and offshore infrastructure development.

According to an official government statement, the programme is expected to catalyse reserve accretion of more than 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) while substantially increasing offshore exploration activity, promoting higher domestic oil and gas production, and strengthening indigenous manufacturing in the upstream energy sector.

The scheme provides financial support for reimbursing deepwater exploratory drilling costs and partially funding 3D seismic surveys. It also includes scientific drilling in frontier offshore basins where hydrocarbon reserves remain unproven, development of common offshore production and evacuation infrastructure, creation of an integrated oil and gas manufacturing and services ecosystem, digital programme management, technology adoption, capacity building, and international collaboration.

India currently imports nearly 85% of its crude oil requirement and around half of its natural gas consumption, making energy security a key policy priority. Despite successive reforms, offshore exploration has remained below its potential, particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater regions where exploration costs remain commercially challenging.

Domestic crude oil production has largely stagnated at around 29–30 million tonnes annually, while natural gas production has witnessed only modest improvement following the commissioning of new fields. The government expects the incentive-based framework under Samudra Manthan to improve project viability by sharing exploration risks and encouraging greater investment in frontier offshore blocks.

The approval builds upon a series of upstream energy reforms undertaken over the past decade. These include modernization of the legislative and contractual framework, strengthening of the National Data Repository, and opening almost the entire offshore acreage for exploration. India’s upstream sector first introduced private participation under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 1997. This framework was later replaced by the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) in 2016, which introduced a revenue-sharing model, unified licensing, and market-based pricing to simplify exploration and production activities.

Alongside Samudra Manthan, the Union Cabinet also approved the extension of the PM-Kisan income support scheme for another five years at a cost of ₹3.15 trillion, reflecting the government’s parallel focus on strengthening rural incomes and long-term energy security.

The success of Samudra Manthan will ultimately depend on whether increased exploration activity translates into commercially viable discoveries and sustained growth in domestic oil and gas production. If successful, the programme could play a significant role in reducing India’s import dependence while strengthening the country’s long-term energy resilience.