Overview

• In nine OALP rounds about 38% of bids targeted the newly opened 1 million sq km area, and officials expect that share to exceed 75% in the next round
• Suryamani well has yielded an estimated 4 million tonnes of oil equivalent, Neelmani about 1.2 million tonnes, and a 2,865 metre well struck both oil and gas
• ONGC and Oil India Limited are currently probing four sites at 5,000 metre depths to assess the Andaman basin’s scale
• India’s 3.5 million sq km sedimentary basin is estimated to hold 42 billion tonnes of oil and gas equivalent, but only 8% has been explored
• Offshore wells cost roughly USD 100 million each and India still imports about 80% of its oil and 50% of its natural gas