In the days since the Iran war erupted last month, the global energy conversation has shifted decisively toward self-reliance. Countries across Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan have all moved to secure domestic energy pathways, while the International Energy Agency has warned that the disruption could be prolonged and structurally damaging. Its chief Fatih Birol has cautioned that the scale of supply loss and infrastructure damage could keep markets tight well beyond the immediate conflict. In this climate, India too is accelerating its pursuit of energy self-sufficiency. Yet, this is not a sudden pivot. The current push to drill more aggressively is the culmination of a trend that gathered momentum through 2025 and early 2026, and is now being fast-tracked by geopolitical urgency.
The clearest signal of this shift has come from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), whose latest move underlines how India is moving from intent to execution at scale.
ONGC’s decision to float a global tender worth up to $20 billion to hire deepwater drilling rigs, as reported by ET today, marks a turning point in India’s upstream strategy. The sheer scale of the programme, combined with the requirement to mobilise rigs within 80 days, reflects a sense of urgency rarely seen in India’s exploration history.
The programme spans both producing and frontier basins. ONGC is expanding activity in the Krishna-Godavari basin while simultaneously pushing into ultra-deepwater zones in the Andamans, a region long seen as geologically promising but underexplored. Partnerships with global majors such as BP, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies and Petrobras indicate that India is willing to import technology and expertise to accelerate results in complex offshore terrains.
This is not merely an expansion of drilling activity but a strategic escalation. Deepwater exploration is expensive and uncertain, but it offers the possibility of large discoveries that could materially alter India’s energy balance. The willingness to commit tens of billions of dollars signals that energy security is now being treated as a national priority requiring upfront risk.
The ONGC tender is closely aligned with the broader policy framework outlined in Mission Samudra Manthan, India’s new deepwater exploration blueprint which was reported recently by ET. Conceptualised even before the Iran war, the mission represents a shift from incremental exploration to a mission-mode approach. The national deepwater exploration mission intends to reverse decades of under-exploration.
At present, India drills roughly 30 exploratory wells annually. Under Samudra Manthan, that number is set to rise to at least 100 wells per year over the next five years starting 2026–27. Crucially, about 25 of these will target deepwater areas each year, while around 40 stratigraphic wells will focus on improving geological understanding of India’s sedimentary basins. This emphasis on data and subsurface mapping reflects a recognition that India’s exploration challenge is not just about drilling more wells, but about drilling smarter ones.
The long-term targets are equally ambitious. Hydrocarbon reserves are projected to rise sharply over the next two decades, while domestic crude and gas production are expected to scale up significantly. Even partial success would reduce India’s heavy dependence on imports and provide insulation against external shocks. In that sense, Samudra Manthan is not just an energy programme. It is a macroeconomic risk-management strategy.
While the Iran war has injected urgency, India’s drilling push was already gaining momentum through 2025. The government launched the largest-ever round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy, offering 25 blocks across 13 sedimentary basins, most of them offshore, covering nearly 1.9 lakh square kilometres . This was accompanied by plans to explore over 2.5 lakh square kilometres in one of the world’s largest offshore exploration efforts .
Policy reforms were also designed to unlock previously inaccessible areas. Over the past decade, large swathes of “no-go” zones have been opened up, and new licensing frameworks have allowed companies to identify and bid for blocks with greater flexibility . The government has repeatedly emphasised the need for “bold, time-bound exploration strategies” aligned with a national deepwater mission .
On the ground, activity has been picking up. Contracts for multiple exploration blocks have been signed with companies such as ONGC, Oil India and private players, while auctions of coal bed methane blocks and discovered small fields have aimed to convert untapped resources into production . Offshore drilling has also expanded, with new blocks in the Kerala-Konkan basin cleared for exploration and deep drilling up to 6,000 metres planned .
Indian firms have simultaneously sought global partnerships to access technology and capital. Oil India’s collaboration with TotalEnergies for deepwater exploration and ONGC’s tie-up with BP to enhance output from mature fields are part of a broader strategy to de-risk complex drilling projects while accelerating output growth .
These steps show that India’s current drilling surge is not reactive. It is the continuation of a deliberate policy trajectory aimed at expanding domestic exploration capacity.
What the Iran war has done is compress timelines and elevate stakes. India’s dependence on imported oil, much of it routed through geopolitically sensitive chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, has long been recognised as a vulnerability. The current conflict has made that vulnerability immediate and tangible.
The IEA’s warning that the crisis could persist due to large-scale infrastructure damage to nearly 40 energy assets in the Middle East reinforces the need for structural solutions rather than temporary fixes. For India, this means going beyond diversification of imports and building domestic production capacity at scale.
This is why deepwater drilling, despite its high costs, has moved to the centre of policy. It offers access to reserves that are otherwise unreachable and provides a pathway to long-term supply security. The ONGC tender, in this context, is a hedge against a future where such disruptions may become more frequent.
India’s strategy is not limited to exploration alone. The expansion of strategic petroleum reserves, with a goal of approaching a 90-day buffer, complements the push to increase domestic production. While drilling addresses long-term supply, reserves provide immediate protection against shocks. At the same time, the government is working to build an enabling ecosystem for exploration. This includes boosting domestic manufacturing of drilling equipment, streamlining regulatory clearances and considering structural reforms within public sector companies to create globally competitive energy players.
The ambition extends beyond upstream activity. Plans to expand refining capacity and deepen petrochemical integration indicate that India is seeking to position itself not just as a producer, but as a comprehensive energy hub.
The shift toward aggressive offshore exploration is not without risks. Deepwater drilling is capital intensive, technologically demanding and often uncertain in its outcomes. The $20 billion programme led by ONGC illustrates both the scale of ambition and the magnitude of financial commitment involved.
Yet, the broader context suggests that inaction may carry greater risks. As global energy systems become more fragmented and geopolitical tensions continue to shape supply chains, as shown by both the Ukraine and Iran wars, dependence on imports exposes economies to volatility that is increasingly difficult to hedge against. India’s current trajectory reflects an acceptance of this reality. The push to drill more, dig deeper and invest heavily in domestic resources is not a departure from past policy but an acceleration of an existing trend. What has changed is the urgency. The Iran war has compressed timelines and amplified the stakes.
Source Name : Economic Times