NEW DELHI : GAIL (India) Limited hosted an industry consultation on the Government of India’s landmark initiative ‘Samudra Manthan’, a National Offshore Exploration Scheme aimed at unlocking India’s deepwater and ultra-deepwater energy potential, at its headquarters here in New Delhi recently.
The consultation was held under the strategic guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and brought together senior government officials, policymakers and industry leaders to deliberate on the way forward for accelerating India’s offshore exploration capabilities.
The government and policymaking side was represented by Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, MoPNG; Shri T. K. Ramachandran, Former Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH); Joint Secretary, MoPNG; Director (E-II), MoPNG; and Director (E-III), MoPNG.
The industry was represented by the leadership of leading public sector undertakings, private-sector companies and global enterprises, including Shri Deepak Gupta, CMD, GAIL, reflecting the broad-based participation and collaborative approach envisioned under the ‘Samudra Manthan’ programme.
The discussions focused on creating a collaborative ecosystem and developing an actionable roadmap to translate the vision of ‘Samudra Manthan’ into tangible outcomes. Key areas of deliberation included accelerating offshore exploration, de-risking frontier basins and enabling faster monetisation of hydrocarbon discoveries.
With India continuing to depend on imports for more than 88% of its crude oil requirements, strengthening domestic exploration and production remains critical to the country’s long-term energy and economic security.
The ‘Samudra Manthan’ initiative represents a significant new chapter in India’s pursuit of energy security and Atmanirbhar Bharat, with a focus on unlocking the vast potential of deepwater and ultra-deepwater basins as the next frontier of domestic energy resources.
By bringing together decisive governance, policy support and industry capabilities, the initiative seeks to create a more enabling environment for offshore exploration and contribute towards a secure, resilient and self-reliant energy future for India.
