Oil & Gas – Long Haul – Samudra Manthan: Harbinger of long-term growth?
Published on 31 Aug 2026
India has 26 sedimentary basins: 16 onland, 7 across onland/offshore, and 3 entirely offshore. Unfortunately, only 7 of these have proven reserves and are under production (Category I). While offshore appears small number wise, out of total area of 3.4mn sq km, 51% is offshore. However, over the last 2 decades, number of offshore wells drilled per year have largely remained flat in the country at 110-130, while those for onland have more than doubled to 608 by FY25. That too, focus clearly has been on near-medium term with exploratory wells accounting for only 17%/30% of onshore/offshore wells in FY25 vs. nearly half, 2 decades back. Will it benefit upstream companies: Samudra Manthan would definitely help both ONGC and OINL in the long run. However, it may be noted that ~67% of ONGC’s total production comes from fields that are witnessing structural decline in production. Thus, only time would tell whether the scheme would result in any growth. We highlight both ONGC and OINL as potential long-term investment bets, should the scheme result in overall growth in production.
