The government will spend Rs43,200 crore to support drilling 60 wells in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas under the Rs84,084-crore Samudra Manthan scheme, aimed at boosting domestic oil and gas exploration and reducing India's dependence on imports.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued operational guidelines for the scheme, which will run until FY2030-31. FY2026-27 will be the preparatory year, followed by the first phase of spending from FY2027-28 to FY2030-31.
Under the scheme, the government will provide financial support of up to 50% of eligible drilling costs, subject to a ceiling of Rs675 crore per well, whichever is lower. The support is intended to reduce the financial risk for companies exploring offshore areas, where drilling is expensive and there is no guarantee of finding commercially viable oil or gas.
Deepwater areas are those with water depths exceeding 400 metres, while ultra-deepwater areas have depths exceeding 1,500 metres. India's offshore exploration potential lies in basins such as Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi and the Andaman region.
Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal has described Samudra Manthan as “the most ambitious upstream oil and gas intervention undertaken in recent times”. The government expects the programme to add more than 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent to India's hydrocarbon reserves.
The scheme also provides Rs28,534 crore for offshore seismic surveys and data processing to help identify potential oil and gas reserves. Another Rs10,000 crore has been earmarked for shared offshore infrastructure, including pipelines and production facilities, to help bring discoveries into production.
The government will also spend Rs2,000 crore on oil and gas manufacturing and services zones to promote domestic production of equipment and strengthen related services. A further Rs350 crore is earmarked for programme management, digital systems, monitoring and other support activities.
The scheme aims to encourage investment in offshore exploration, increase domestic oil and gas production and reduce India's dependence on imported hydrocarbons.