Oil India plans to spend ₹15,000 crore over three years on deepwater exploration: CMD

Ranjit Rath, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Oil India Ltd (FILE) | Photo credit: ANI

Oil India Ltd (OIL) has outlined a capital expenditure of ₹15,000 crore for its exploration activities in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas over the next three years, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ranjit Rath told reporters at a press interaction on Wednesday.

“In terms of readiness, we have already created investment capital of ₹15,000 crore (for deep and ultra-deep water exploration),” Mr. Rath said.

The OIL chief further informed that he expects the 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) expansion of the Numaligarh refinery to be completed by the end of the current fiscal, with stabilization likely to take another 9-12 months.

In terms of overseas activities, Mr Rath said OIL would focus on both exploration and asset extraction, although the primary interest would lean towards the latter.

Offshore exploration

The capital expenditure will further strengthen explorer-producer Maharatna’s offshore exploration footprint in the Andaman, Kerala-Konkan, Krishna-Godavari and Mahanadi basins.

Oil India has already conducted seismic studies and interpretation of the findings will help identify potential drilling sites, the company chief said. Responding to a query by The Hindu, Mr. Rath said the company does not expect any major problems in accessing the infrastructure or technology required for offshore exploration and production.

A scouting base on the home front

Mr Rath reported that the state-owned explorer-producer had divested its assets in Bangladesh and Gabon as part of a wider consolidation strategy.

In a separate interview with The Hindu, he explained, “As part of our overseas assets, we would continue to look at the more promising areas – both production and exploration assets, but the primary focus would be on producing assets that will give us an early or immediate monetization opportunity.”

He added that exploration would continue to be a mainstay on the domestic front.

Published – 17 Sep 2026 22:01 IST