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The Union Cabinet on Friday, July 31, approved the first phase of the government's ambitious 'Samudra Manthan' programme, allocating ₹84,000 crore to boost deep-sea exploration for oil and natural gas.
The first phase of the scheme envisages an outlay of around ₹84,000 crore and is aimed at accelerating deep-water offshore exploration while extending policy support for high-risk exploration activities, according to people familiar with the matter.
The scheme is expected to encourage exploration in India's deep-sea sedimentary basins as the government looks to strengthen domestic hydrocarbon production and reduce reliance on imported crude oil and natural gas.
The mission has already begun moving from policy to execution. On July 25, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) spudded its first deepwater exploratory well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin under the Samudra Manthan campaign.
The well, located off the Odisha coast, marks the start of ONGC's deep and ultra-deepwater exploration programme after recent discoveries in the Utkal and Konark blocks strengthened the basin's hydrocarbon potential. According to ONGC, India's eastern and western offshore basins are estimated to hold more than 5,600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) of hydrocarbon resources.
The approval builds on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, dubbed 'Samudra Manthan', during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2025.
The Prime Minister had said the mission would be launched in "mission mode" to discover oil and gas reserves beneath the sea as part of India's push towards energy self-reliance.
The programme is expected to focus on expanding exploration in deep-water and ultra-deep-water areas, where exploration costs are significantly higher, and commercial discoveries carry greater geological and financial risks.
An official notification detailing the contours and implementation roadmap of the scheme is expected to be issued subsequently.
Also read: Shehzad Poonawalla's X bio drops BJP reference, resignation reports emerge
The first phase of the scheme envisages an outlay of around ₹84,000 crore and is aimed at accelerating deep-water offshore exploration while extending policy support for high-risk exploration activities, according to people familiar with the matter.
The scheme is expected to encourage exploration in India's deep-sea sedimentary basins as the government looks to strengthen domestic hydrocarbon production and reduce reliance on imported crude oil and natural gas.
The mission has already begun moving from policy to execution. On July 25, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) spudded its first deepwater exploratory well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin under the Samudra Manthan campaign.
The well, located off the Odisha coast, marks the start of ONGC's deep and ultra-deepwater exploration programme after recent discoveries in the Utkal and Konark blocks strengthened the basin's hydrocarbon potential. According to ONGC, India's eastern and western offshore basins are estimated to hold more than 5,600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) of hydrocarbon resources.
The approval builds on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, dubbed 'Samudra Manthan', during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2025.
The Prime Minister had said the mission would be launched in "mission mode" to discover oil and gas reserves beneath the sea as part of India's push towards energy self-reliance.
The programme is expected to focus on expanding exploration in deep-water and ultra-deep-water areas, where exploration costs are significantly higher, and commercial discoveries carry greater geological and financial risks.
An official notification detailing the contours and implementation roadmap of the scheme is expected to be issued subsequently.
Also read: Shehzad Poonawalla's X bio drops BJP reference, resignation reports emerge
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