Why it's tough to go digging for oil in the oceans — and why India is spending ₹84,084 crore trying to

India's Union cabinet approved Samudra Manthan, a ₹84,084 crore scheme to explore oil and gas offshore, including acquiring seismic data and drilling 60 deepwater wells.

The scheme budgets ₹43,200 crore for 60 offshore wells, with government covering half the drilling costs, aiming to boost domestic output from 62 to 80 million tonnes of oil-equivalent per year.

India's crude production fell from 36.9 million tonnes in 2015-16 to 28.7 million tonnes in 2024-25, while import dependency hit a record 88.7%.

The IEA and OPEC both project India as the largest source of new oil demand through 2050, and West Asia conflicts have disrupted supply routes, prompting the government's move.

Finding oil requires a working petroleum system with source rock, reservoir rock, and other conditions; success odds are about one in four for wells.