India accelerates its efforts to reduce oil import reliance through a massive offshore exploration initiative and strategic storage enhancements, despite challenges in yield and cost overruns.
India’s latest push to cut its crude import dependence is moving on two fronts: spending more on offshore exploration and building a larger strategic oil buffer. The Cabinet has approved Samudra Manthan, a national offshore exploration scheme with an outlay of ₹84,084 crore through FY2030-31, aimed at expanding deepwater drilling and strengthening long-term energy security, according to government statements carried by the news reports. The plan is also intended to support indigenous capability in offshore technology and services and to draw in more domestic production over time.
The scale of the ambition is clear, but so is the risk. The Hindu BusinessLine noted that India imports nearly 90% of its crude and that the country’s oil import bill could reach $170 billion this fiscal year if crude averages $85 a barrel. The scheme itself is designed to cover half the cost of deepwater exploration wells, with the broader programme focusing on offshore seismic data acquisition and the drilling of 60 deepwater wells. That matters because the path from exploration to commercial output can take 5 to 10 years, making results uncertain even when the upfront spending is substantial.
There is also reason for caution from India’s own experience. The parliamentary petroleum committee has pointed to rising capital expenditure and weakening output from mature fields, which still account for most domestic production. It has called for clearer performance benchmarks, periodic reviews and accountability. The BusinessLine editorial also recalled earlier shortcomings in the Krishna-Godavari basin, where reserve estimates and extraction costs were not always well judged, while a Comptroller and Auditor General report on ONGC cited cost overruns and missed survey and drilling targets.
At the same time, another parliamentary report has argued that storage deserves more attention. It recommends lifting India’s strategic cover from roughly 75 days of supplies to 90 days, yet current strategic petroleum reserves amount to only about 10 days. The BusinessLine argued that setting aside money for storage could deliver a more immediate gain in resilience than exploration alone. That broader logic now appears to be shaping policy: India is trying to drill more, store more and reduce exposure to the next oil shock, even if the benefits of any new offshore discovery may take years to arrive.
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