NEW DELHI: In a bid to increase domestic oil and gas production, the Centre on Friday approved the Rs 84,000-crore Samudra Manthan scheme to accelerate deep-sea exploration.
According to the petroleum ministry, the scheme will add 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) to India’s hydrocarbon reserves. It is also projected to enhance the annual domestic oil and gas production by 10-15 MTOE.
The biggest share of the scheme Rs 43,200 crore—has been earmarked to support the drilling of 60 deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration wells. The government will provide financial support to state-run ONGC and Oil India as well as private exploration firms to encourage drilling in deepwater areas where exploration is expensive and risky.
The support comes after the government opened 99% of the offshore areas earlier classified as ‘no-go’ zones due to defence and space-related curbs.
Another Rs 28,500 crore has been allocated for large-scale 2D and 3D offshore seismic surveys and advanced data processing using technologies such as artificial intelligence. The surveys will help create detailed maps of the seabed and find locations for drilling.
The scheme also provides Rs 10,000 crore to build common offshore infrastructure for developing stranded discoveries in basins such as Mahanadi and Kutch, where high evacuation costs have made projects commercially unviable.
In addition, Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated to set up an Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zone to promote domestic manufacturing of oilfield equipment and services.
The Centre expects the move to cut imports and strengthen the domestic supply chain.
Rs 5,070 crore Floating solar scheme
To boost India’s solar power generation, the government approved the Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana, a Rs 5,070-crore scheme to set up 5,000 MW (5GW) of floating solar power projects over the next five years. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India currently has 0.7 GW of installed floating solar capacity.