Cabinet approves Rs. 84,084 crore 'Samudra Manthan' scheme to boost offshore oil and gas exploration. All details here

According to an official government statement, the scheme translates Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, articulated during his Independence Day address from the Red Fort in 2025, of a modern-day Samudra Manthan to unlock India's vast offshore energy potential.

The scheme comprises a comprehensive set of interventions across the offshore exploration value chain. It includes large-scale acquisition, processing and interpretation of high-quality seismic data, accelerated exploratory drilling in deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks, 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, creating an integrated ecosystem aimed at accelerating offshore exploration and production in India.

According to the government, Samudra Manthan is expected to help add more than 600 Million Metric Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (MMTOE) to the country's hydrocarbon reserves. The initiative is also expected to significantly boost offshore exploration, increase domestic oil and gas production, generate large-scale employment, strengthen indigenous manufacturing under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, and build a globally competitive ecosystem for offshore technologies and services.

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

"As India progresses towards becoming a developed nation, Samudra Manthan represents a transformational national initiative that will unlock the country's offshore energy resources, strengthen long-term energy security, deepen technological capabilities, and create enduring value for the economy and future generations," the government said in the statement.

Over the past decade, the government has undertaken a series of reforms in the upstream hydrocarbon sector, including opening nearly the entire offshore acreage for exploration, modernising the legislative and contractual framework, and strengthening the National Data Repository.

Building on these reforms, the Samudra Manthan scheme aims to usher in a new era of accelerated offshore exploration through strategic public investment, advanced technologies and world-class infrastructure.