Oil Exploration

Govt to fund up to 50% deepwater well costs, recover aid from winners

That recovery clause, set out in newly issued operational guidelines, is the scheme's central bargain: the government carries early geological risk and keeps a claim on any upside

Govt sets rules for ₹84,084 cr offshore oil hunt, to share drilling risks

The government will share the cost of high-risk deepwater oil and gas exploration with energy companies under the Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan scheme, offering to pay part of the cost of risky exploration wells, fund seismic mapping of offshore basins and help build shared production facilities. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued operational guidelines for the Samudra Manthan programme, which aims to improve the economics of exploring India's deepwater and ultra-deepwater basins, where high drilling costs and uncertain geological prospects have constrained investment. The scheme aims to cut India's heavy reliance on imported hydrocarbons. The guidelines say it will run through FY2030-31, with FY2026-27 as a preparatory year and spending in FY2027-28 to FY2030-31 as Phase I. Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal, in the preface to the guidelines, called the scheme "the most ambitious upstream oil and gas intervention undertaken in recent times" and said it could add "mor

Massive oil, gas and mineral exploration to begin in Greenland: Trump

However, Trump did not share details about the ‌exploration plans in Greenland

Drilling for oil in a disputed belt amid push for Northeast exploration

A tripartite agreement hopes to clear the ground for oil and gas exploration in the Northeast, but it won't be easy

Indian Oil, BPCL JV makes fresh oil discovery in Abu Dhabi onshore block

Indian Oil and a BPCL arm have reported a new oil find in Abu Dhabi through their joint venture. The discovery follows an earlier find in 2024, the company said

Oil India ropes in France's TotalEnergies for deepsea oil, gas hunt

Oil India Ltd, the nation's second biggest state-owned explorer, has roped in French energy giant TotalEnergies to provide technical assistance in finding oil and natural gas reserves in deep and ultra-deepwater areas. "OIL and TotalEnergies inked a technology service agreement on November 19, 2025 in New Delhi to strengthen strategic collaboration for exploration activities in deep and ultra-deepwater offshore frontiers of Indian sedimentary Basins, including the stratigraphic wells as mandated by the government of India," OIL said in a statement on Wednesday. The agreement puts in place a framework to leverage TotalEnergies' expertise in deep and ultra-deepwater exploration value chain across OIL's current and future offshore portfolio. It includes the ongoing appraisal programme of gas find in the shallow offshore blocks in Andaman basin as well as exploration in OIL's ultradeep water blocks in Mahanadi and Krishna Godavari Basins. It also covers evaluation of opportunities under

Oil India reports first natural gas occurrence in Andaman offshore block

Oil India has reported the first natural gas occurrence from its Andaman offshore blocks at exploratory well Vijayapuram-2, marking a step forward in India's hydrocarbon exploration

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

Big discovery in deepwater basin need of hour: OIL chief Ranjit Rath

This is a flagship initiative being launched by the Government of India under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG)

ONGC, OIL rise up to 2.5% as govt cuts windfall tax on crude oil to nil

Govt cuts windfall tax to nil: On Tuesday, Centre scrapped windfall tax on crude oil from Rs 1,850 per tonne amid ease in oil prices

Centre grants in-principle approval to oil exploration in Assam's sanctuary

The Union environment ministry has granted in-principle approval to divert around 4.50 hectares of forest land in Assam, home to the endangered hoolock gibbon, for oil and gas exploration by a Vedanta Group company. Cairn Oil & Gas will carry out exploratory oil drilling in the ecosensitive zone of the Hoollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat district, the sole habitat for India's only ape species. The ministry's Forest Advisory Committee approved the diversion of 4.49 hectares of forest land during a meeting on August 27, according to minutes published on the Parivesh portal. On August 8, Assam's principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden recommended the clearance, saying that the project served "national interest". The project site is located within the ecosensitive zone of the sanctuary, an area also used by wild elephants to move between the sanctuary and the Dessoi Valley Reserve Forest, the official noted. "Conservation and management

Govt invites France's TotalEnergies to bid for oil exploration rights

India buys more than 84% of the oil it needs from overseas and is seeking to quickly develop its hydrocarbon reserves to reduce import dependence

US judge orders Argentina to pay $16 bn for expropriation of YPF oil co

A US judge ruled that Argentina must pay USD 16.1 billion to minority shareholders of state-controlled oil company YPF due to the government's 2012 nationalization of a majority stake in the firm. US District Judge Loretta Preska in New York issued final judgment Friday detailing the dollar amount that the South American country would have to pay. Preska on Friday ordered Argentina to pay USD 14.38 billion to Petersen Energa, including USD 7.5 billion in damages and USD 6.85 billion in interest and USD 1.7 billion to Eton Capital, including USD 897.75 million in damages and USD 816.58 million in interest. Interest will continue to accrue if Argentina fails to pay, Preska said. Argentina, which is currently suffering dire economic woes that include a low level of Central Bank reserves, rising poverty and a galloping inflation of more than 100 per cent per year, has vowed to appeal the ruling. A week earlier, Preska had made clear it was siding with the plaintiffs in the long-running

Hindustan Oil Exploration sinks 19% as Q1 profit plunges 80% QoQ

Separately, the government has hiked windfall tax on crude petroleum to Rs 7,100 per tonne with effect from August 15, up from Rs 4,250 per tonne.

Exxon Mobil Corp to buy Denbury in $4.9 bn all-stock transaction deal

Under the terms of the deal, Denbury shareholders will get 0.84 Exxon shares for each Denbury share they hold

Proposed change to forest law will boost oil, gas exploration, says report

The Centre can speed up the granting of exploration permits for oil and gas resources by easing seismic surveys in forest lands

Nagaland govt meet with tribals on oil exploration remains inconclusive

The consultative meeting of Nagaland government with stakeholders and apex tribal bodies on oil exploration and implementation of RIIN remained inconclusive with the decision to hold further consultations before arriving at the final conclusion, a government spokesperson said. With apex tribal organisations and civil societies raising objection to the decision of the state government to sign an MoU with Assam government on Oil and Natural Gas Exploration and implementation of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) with two different dates December 1, 1963 and November 1979, the state government on Tuesday held a meeting with them which lasted for almost six hours. Briefing media persons, Minister for Power and Parliamentary Affairs, K G Kenye said that the meeting was "very fruitful" with the government presenting extensive background of oil exploration in the state since the early 1970s on the oil and gas sectors along the Nagaland-Assam Disputed Area ...

Nagaland meet with tribal bodies before signing oil exploration MoU: Dy CM

The Nagaland government has decided not to go ahead with signing any MoU with Assam on oil exploration before a final consultation is held with stakeholders and tribal bodies of the area, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton said. Patton said this while replying to queries from journalists on Thursday on the stand of the state government on objections raised by various tribal organisations and also Naga underground groups on the proposed signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on oil exploration with Assam government along the Disturbed Area Belt (DAB) of the two states. "The government will hold a consultative meeting with all stakeholders before signing the MoU with Assam government," he said. Not only a particular tribe but consultation will be held with tribal bodies and civil societies of Mon, Longleng, Mokokchung, Wokha, Nuiland, Dimapur and Peren, the oil bearing areas of Nagaland, the DyCM said. The MoU is not yet signed though the Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Assam have

The slippery slope of oil exploration keeps India heavily import-dependent

Motorists have taken comfort in frozen pump prices and gas price caps but producers face high taxes, and restrictions on pricing freedom

Unfinished business: ONGC facing question marks over future structure, role

This is an unnecessary overhang, since the company has not been on an investment spree