Global energy major BP, which is involved in nearly 60% of India’s domestic gas production across the east and west coasts, is evaluating fresh deepwater opportunities under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme-X (OALP-X), as the government’s Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan programme seeks to draw greater private investment into frontier exploration.
BP sees the proposed risk-sharing framework as a potential catalyst for expanding its upstream presence in India, with the Krishna-Godavari, Mahanadi and Saurashtra basins among the areas of interest. Kartikeya Dube, chairman, BP India, tells Saurav Anand in an interview that the initiative could bolster India’s ability to attract global capital and technology into oil and gas exploration and production. Excerpts:
Has the Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan programme changed BP’s India investment outlook? Could it lead to higher upstream investment?
The transformative Samudra Manthan scheme acts as an enabler and enhances opportunities for us to step up participation in India’s exploration and production sector. bp is evaluating bids under the OALP-X along with other companies for deepwater blocks.
The Prime Minister’s announcement of Samudra Manthan, with its explicit focus on deepwater and frontier exploration, marks a decisive moment in India’s efforts to create a competitive and productive upstream environment. It signals the intent to move beyond incremental gains and unlock the next frontier of domestic production.
Deepwater projects require advanced technology, high-risk capital and longer investment horizons with uncertain returns. The risk-sharing approach recognises those challenges and can encourage greater private participation.
Which offshore basins offer the biggest opportunity for BP under Samudra Manthan? How many wells could you consider drilling?
BP is currently present in the Krishna Godavari, Mahanadi and Saurashtra basins. These are our areas of predominant interest.
Samudra Manthan is still in the process of being launched, so any commentary on the number of wells would be premature at this stage.
India’s sedimentary basins, particularly its deepwater and ultra-deepwater acreage, remain significantly underexplored relative to their geological potential. Common infrastructure could lower project costs, support monetisation of discoveries that may otherwise remain sub-economic and help unlock the east coast’s potential.
Could BP take a bigger role in new exploration blocks in India rather than largely remaining a partner?
We continue to strengthen our world-class partnership with Reliance Industries across fuel retailing, mobility solutions and upstream oil and gas production, contributing to India’s energy security and reducing import dependence.
In parallel, our growing collaboration with ONGC as a technical services provider underscores our commitment to supporting development of India’s hydrocarbon resources across the eastern and western offshore basins.
We have also expanded our upstream footprint through the three-way alliance between ONGC, Reliance and bp, which successfully participated in the OALP-IX bidding round. We are actively evaluating opportunities in upcoming bidding rounds.
How far can BP’s partnership with ONGC expand beyond technical services?
The collaboration has already widened substantially. In February 2025, bp became the technical services provider for Mumbai High. Between April and July 2025, bp, Reliance and ONGC moved into joint exploration and investment through the Saurashtra OALP-IX block.
On June 25, 2026, the relationship expanded further when bp was appointed technical services provider for ONGC’s entire Western Offshore Basin, covering 43 blocks, its most prolific producing region.
Our work alongside ONGC demonstrates what can be achieved when deep understanding of Indian reservoirs is combined with global technical and operational expertise. The shared objective is to improve recovery, enhance efficiency and support sustained production from strategic national assets.
India wants domestic oil and gas production to rise from around 62 MMTOE to 80 MMTOE annually. How quickly can Samudra Manthan help?
It is too early to comment. Exploration, discovery, development and finally production must be completed before an informed estimate can be made.
“Samudra Manthan recognizes a simple reality: India’s deepwater resources represent one of the largest remaining opportunities to strengthen domestic energy capability.”
Its significance lies not only in the resources that may be discovered, but also in the technology, skills and ecosystem that can be developed around them. Industry is very keen to work with the government under the scheme.
What policy changes could make India more attractive for global E&P investment?
India is competing with other resource-rich jurisdictions for global exploration and production capital. Capital is increasingly selective and tends to flow towards destinations offering regulatory certainty, attractive fiscal terms and efficient operating environments.
Further measures could include deregulating gas markets, rationalising taxes through reduction of IGST on petroleum operations, and bringing natural gas and aviation turbine fuel under GST.
Together, these reforms would help lower costs, improve investment returns, accelerate project development and strengthen India’s ability to attract global capital and technology.