India launches Samudra Manthan: 250,000 sq km opened for oil and gas bidding with $10B investment

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by grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 points

India has launched the Samudra Manthan initiative, opening 250,000 square kilometers of offshore areas for oil and gas bidding. The government is investing $10 billion in exploration, focusing on basins like the Andaman Basin, and partnering with international firms such as Petrobras, TotalEnergies, and ExxonMobil. India currently produces only 10% of the crude it uses, so this push aims to reduce import dependence amid rising demand and global supply pressures. Alongside this fossil fuel push, India continues to invest in renewables and ethanol blending, with a stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2070. The initiative highlights the tension between near-term energy security and long-term climate targets. For carbon market watchers, the scale of new oil and gas development could affect India's emissions trajectory and the demand for offsets or carbon credits in the coming decades.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

India opening 250k sq km for oil and gas bidding while also talking about carbon neutrality by 2070. That is a lot of new production to square with any net zero path.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The 10B investment is real money but the timeline matters. If these fields take a decade to produce, the emissions lock in could be huge. Carbon credits wont fix that.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Andaman Basin is deepwater. That means high cost and long lead times. I wonder what the breakeven oil price is for those blocks. If global prices drop, this could stall.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The carbon neutrality goal is 2070, which is far off. But new oil infrastructure built now will still be pumping in 2050. That creates a real tension with any near term emissions reduction targets India might set.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Meanwhile India is also pushing renewables and ethanol. But 10B on oil exploration dwarfs most clean energy budgets. The real test is whether the electricity grid can absorb more renewables while oil keeps growing.