Will ‘Samudra Manthan’ Resolve Oil Shortage?

According to ancient mythology, the gods and demons once joined forces to churn the ocean at the dawn of creation. Today’s era—and modern India—seeks a similar new beginning. An energy crisis has emerged; the conflict between the US and Iran in West Asia shows no signs of ending, while the war between Ukraine and Russia has dragged on for three years. Amidst this tension, the Strait of Hormuz route remains blocked, creating an oil and gas crisis for India and the rest of the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet realized early on—when oil and gas supplies were severely disrupted—that India would have to tackle this crisis on its own. To ensure the smooth functioning of its systems and trade, India must become self-reliant. Currently, India imports up to 85 percent of its crude oil and gas requirements from other countries, but this model is no longer sustainable. India had established the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) to explore domestic reserves, but it is fair to say that the commission has largely proven to be a ‘white elephant’ so far. However, the decision to extract oil and gas by ‘churning’ the vast seas surrounding the country—if not from the land itself—is commendable. To achieve self-reliance in the energy sector, the government has approved a scheme worth ₹84,000 crore to explore for oil in the country’s vast maritime territories. This ‘Samudra Manthan’ (ocean exploration) initiative will entail an expenditure of ₹84,000 crore by 2030-31. Experts indicate that significant oil and gas reserves lie beneath the seas surrounding the nation. Currently, oil and gas are being extracted from Mumbai High (160 km off the Mumbai coast) and the Krishna-Godavari basin. It has also been discovered that vast reserves of oil and gas exist beneath the seabed near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. India is surrounded by the sea on three sides: the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian Ocean to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the east. Experts say that vast reserves of oil and gas could be found here. If this exploration proves successful, it will certainly go some way toward resolving our oil and gas-related challenges. We should hope that our search succeeds and that we become self-reliant in terms of oil.