Oil India finds natural gas presence in Andaman offshore Block

Oil India Limited (OIL), the Maharatna exploration and production major, has confirmed the occurrence of natural gas in its second exploratory well, Vijayapuram-2, drilled in the Andaman Shallow Offshore Block (AN-OSHP-2018/1) under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

Preliminary analysis of gas samples collected during intermittent inflows as part of production testing confirmed the presence of natural gas.

Further isotope studies are under way to determine the genesis of the discovery and its potential as an indicator of hydrocarbon source, migration pathways, or accumulations.



This marks the first reported occurrence of hydrocarbon during OIL’s ongoing exploration campaign in the Andaman offshore region, where the company has 10,000 square kilometres under active exploration.

Additional testing of higher prospects is also being undertaken to evaluate the scale of the find.



The company has already completed drilling of 57 wells across Assam, Rajasthan, Mahanadi, and Andaman, while pushing well depths of up to 5,900 metres in Assam and 4,200 metres in the Andamans.

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To fuel this growth, OIL has doubled its capital expenditure plan for FY26 to ₹17,000 crore, up from ₹8,500 crore in the previous fiscal, and is targeting a cumulative capex of ₹1.3 lakh crore by 2030.

The PSU also aims for annual revenues of ₹1 lakh crore by the end of the decade, after posting record oil and gas production of 6.71 MMTOE in FY25, with natural gas output touching an all-time high of 3,252 MMSCM.

Shares of Oil India closed 1.35% lower at ₹409.20 on the NSE ahead of the announcement.