The Union cabinet approved the ₹84,084 crore 'Samudra Manthan' scheme on Friday to boost domestic oil and gas production through offshore exploration.
The first phase, running until March 31, 2031, includes drilling 60 deepwater wells and acquiring seismic data to reduce import dependency, which reached 88.7% in 2025-26.
The initiative aims to increase annual domestic production from 62 MMTOE to 80 MMTOE, potentially reducing crude oil import costs by nearly ₹1 lakh crore annually.