Samudra Manthan: Govt approves Rs 84,084 crore offshore exploration push

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the Rs 84,084 crore Samudra Manthan – National Offshore Exploration Scheme, a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, to accelerate offshore oil and gas exploration and production in India. The scheme will be implemented up to FY 2030-31.

Chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet approved the scheme with an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore. The initiative aims to strengthen India’s energy security by supporting offshore exploration, boosting domestic oil and gas production, promoting technological capabilities and advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat.

Under the scheme, the government will provide support of up to Rs 650 crore for each well drilled in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas. The funding is intended to offset the high cost of offshore exploration and encourage drilling in regions where geological risks are significant.

More than half of the scheme’s total outlay, Rs 43,200 crore, has been earmarked over five years through 2031 to support deepwater drilling, where exploratory wells involve high costs and not every well results in a commercial discovery.

According to the government, the scheme reflects the prime minister’s vision, announced from the Red Fort on Independence Day 2025, of a modern-day Samudra Manthan to unlock India’s offshore energy potential.

The scheme covers the entire offshore exploration value chain. It includes large-scale acquisition, processing and interpretation of high-quality seismic data, accelerated deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling, scientific drilling in frontier basins, development of common offshore production and evacuation infrastructure, and the establishment of an integrated Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zone.

It also provides for digital programme management, capacity building, technology adoption, stakeholder engagement and international outreach to create an integrated ecosystem for faster offshore exploration and production.

The government expects Samudra Manthan to help add more than 600 Million Metric Tons of Oil Equivalent (MMTOE) to reserves, increase offshore exploration activity, raise domestic oil and gas production, generate large-scale employment, strengthen indigenous manufacturing under Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, and support the growth of a globally competitive offshore technologies and services ecosystem.

The scheme is also expected to attract significant investments across the exploration and production value chain, creating long-term opportunities for industry, innovation and economic growth.

The government said Samudra Manthan is a transformational national initiative that will unlock India’s offshore energy resources, strengthen long-term energy security, deepen technological capabilities and create enduring value for the economy and future generations.

It added that over the past decade, the government has undertaken reforms in the upstream sector, including opening almost the entire offshore acreage for exploration, modernising the legislative and contractual framework, and strengthening the National Data Repository. Building on these reforms, Samudra Manthan aims to accelerate offshore exploration through strategic public investment, advanced technologies and world-class infrastructure.