Govt likely to set up corpus for strategic deepwater exploration

The National Deepwater Mission will create a corpus fund to boost strategic oil and gas exploration in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas as OIL ramps up acreage

The government is planning to set up a corpus under the National Deepwater Exploration Mission to support strategic oil and gas exploration efforts in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas.

 

The exact contours of the plan are yet to be finalised, including the size of the corpus and its sources.

 

“The Prime Minister has emphasised upon the National Deepwater Exploration Mission where a corpus is identified by the Government of India for a focused and concerted strategy-driven exploration in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas and Oil India Ltd (OIL) remains committed to this clarion call,” OIL Chairman and Managing Director Ranjit Rath said in an address to employees.

 

Under the ninth round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bidding, OIL has already secured 40,000 square kilometre area in deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration acreages in Mahanadi and KG Basins, and it is going to launch the seismic 3D and 2D data acquisition very soon, he said.

 

Rath added that PM Modi has stressed upon the National Critical Mineral Mission, under which a corpus has already been identified to enhance exploration and production and also overseas assets acquisition with identified PSUs, in which OIL is also reflected. The company is pursuing such diversified alternatives aligned with national priorities. 

 

“We have recently diversified to critical minerals. We have bagged two blocks, including a graphite and a vanadium block in Arunachal Pradesh, and a potash block in Rajasthan. We are also looking at acquisition of overseas assets of critical minerals,” he said.

 

Rath said the company is on track to meet production targets, but more needs to be done. OIL operates primarily in upper Assam where the market for natural gas is still constrained. He congratulated the OIL team managing the Rajasthan asset for achieving the fastest monetisation of the Bakhri Tibba Discovered Small Field (DSF) block.

 

“We are supplying 30,000 standard cubic metres of natural gas towards power generation from that field. A similar call of duty is emerging in Tripura. I would call upon the Tripura asset team to ensure that by March 31, 2026, or before, we are able to monetise the Tulamara DSF where we have already done the first well and we intend to drill three more wells soon,” he said.

 

India's crude oil import bill last financial year stood at around $140 billion, with import dependence of 90 per cent in case of crude oil and 50 per cent in case of natural gas, as on May 2025. “Every drop of crude oil extracted from the sub-surface is a huge contribution. Gone are the days when we used to get price realisation of $80-85 per barrel. The current realisation is only $66 per barrel, a drop of 22 per cent. That is why enhanced production matters,” he said.

 

OIL is also working on mapping areas where potential exists for productivity enhancement with a focus on cost optimisation.