India Witnesses Renewed Spurt in Oil and Gas Exploration

Puri stated that opening of nearly one million square kilometers of erstwhile 'No-Go' offshore areas in 2022.

- AGENCIES

India is witnessing a renewed surge in oil and gas exploration, particularly in offshore regions, underscoring the country's vast untapped hydrocarbon potential, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Parliament on Tuesday.

Puri in Rajya Sabha stated that the opening of nearly one million square kilometers of erstwhile 'No-Go' offshore areas in 2022 has been a landmark development. This move has unlocked significant exploration frontiers, especially in deepwater and frontier regions such as the Andaman-Nicobar (AN) offshore basin, and has been instrumental in triggering the current momentum in offshore activity, the Minister stated, according to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Since 2015, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies operating in India have reported 172 hydrocarbon discoveries, including 62 in offshore areas, he said.