Cairn Oil & Gas to begin offshore drilling in Kutch Basin

Offshore assets have advantages of higher reserves and fewer land buy hurdles

- Arunima Bharadwaj

CAIRN OIL & Gas, part of the Vedanta group, plans to double down on its offshore exploration, particularly in the deepwater Kutch Basin in October 2025 and the Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin over the next year, according to sources.

The company aims to unlock significant growth potential in these basins, with a target of contributing 50% to India's crude production by 2030.

"Cairn has firm plans to start drilling in the Kutch Basin starting October this year. This is part of the larger plan to invest in increasing oil and gas exploration and production in the West Coast," said a source.

Cairn operates one PSC, 14 OALP, and one DSF Blocks offshore on the West Coast of India, covering the Gujarat Kutch-Saurashtra Basin in the West, and the offshore Cambay and Mumbai Basins in the South.