Page 57 - Policy Economic Report -August 2026

POLICY AND ECONOMIC
OIL & GAS MARKET

The National Offshore Exploration Scheme “Samudra Manthan” marks the transition from policy
reforms to mission-mode implementation. Approved as a Central Sector Scheme with a Phase-I outlay
of ?84,084 crore up to 31 March 2031, the scheme adopts an integrated approach to accelerate
offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production.

The scheme comprises four key components: (i) acquisition and processing of modern offshore

seismic data with an outlay of ?28,534 crore; (ii) drilling of 60 deepwater exploration wells with an
allocation of ?43,200 crore, including Government support of up to 50% of eligible drilling cost or
?675 crore per well, whichever is lower; (iii) development of common offshore infrastructure hubs
with an outlay of ?10,000 crore to facilitate commercialisation of discoveries; and (iv) establishment
of Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zones with an outlay of ?2,000 crore to promote domestic
manufacturing and localisation of critical equipment and services.

S. No Component Amount
(in Rs. Crore)
1 Offshore data acquisition
1A 2D seismic data acquisition for basin-wide coverage 28,534
1B 3D seismic data acquisition (and other techniques) 12,000
1C NDR data re-processing and AI tools implementation 12,534
2 Offshore exploration and infrastructure-led production 4,000
2A Offshore exploration acceleration 55,200
2B Infrastructure-led deepwater production and exploration 43,200
2C Development of oil and gas manufacturing and services zones 10,000
2,000
Monitoring and support activities (digital interventions, monitoring
3 and evaluation, human resource, awareness and outreach, events, 350

media) 84,084
TOTAL

Subject to exploration success, the National Offshore Exploration Scheme – Samudra Manthan – aims
to increase India's domestic oil and gas production from around 62 MMTOE to 80 MMTOE annually
and expand the country's hydrocarbon resource base from 1.6 billion TOE to 2.2 billion TOE. The
additional production has the potential to reduce crude oil imports by nearly ?1 lakh crore annually,
strengthening India's energy security and reducing import dependence.

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