Union Cabinet Approves Rs 84,084 Crore 'Samudra Manthan' National Offshore Exploration Scheme

2 October 2026National

The Union Cabinet approved Samudra Manthan, a National Offshore Exploration Scheme with an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore (about USD 8.81 billion) running to FY 2030-31. It targets deep and ultra-deepwater hydrocarbon blocks in the Mahanadi, Andaman-Nicobar, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery and Kutch basins, aiming to add over 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) in recoverable reserves and lift annual domestic output towards 80 MMTOE. Its largest component, Rs 43,200 crore, underwrites 60 exploration wells, meeting half the cost of each subject to a Rs 675 crore per-well cap. The scheme is steered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

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India imports close to 88% of its crude oil requirement | The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, set up in 1993, works under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas | India's offshore acreage is licensed through the Open Acreage Licensing Policy under HELP, launched in 2016

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