Andaman Sea can change the picture of Indian energyImage Credit source: gemini
A few days ago, a big and hopeful news regarding India’s energy future has emerged from the deep sea of Andaman. Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has described this discovery as an “ocean of energy opportunities”. Now he also shared a video related to this on social media today. Puri wrote in his post that “A new chapter has been added to India’s energy story. A large natural gas reserve has been found 2,650 meters deep in the ocean, about 17 kilometers away from the Andaman coast.
Initial investigation has revealed that this gas contains approximately 87% methane That is, it is clean, effective and excellent quality fuel. This discovery strengthens Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of energy security and offshore exploration. Andaman Basin is now emerging as India’s next big offshore energy sector.
A new chapter in India’s energy story unfolds. Major natural gas reserve discovered 17 km off the Andaman coast at 2,650 m depth.
Preliminary studies show gas with ~87% methane – clean, efficient & high-quality. Aligned with PM @narendramodi jis vision, this discovery adds pic.twitter.com/tZaXKOgiPJ
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) October 14, 2025
Precious treasure of natural gas found
In fact, Andaman Islands A huge reserve of natural gas has been discovered just a few kilometers off the coast of India, which has given new wings to the hopes of India’s energy security. This success has been achieved by the government Maharatna company Oil India Limited (IOL).
The company achieved this success in its second attempt in the Shallow Offshore Block of Andaman. This discovery was made in the sea about 17 kilometers away from the eastern coast of the Andaman Islands, where the water depth is 295 meters. OIL engineers drilled to the target depth of 2,650 metres, and found this precious treasure of natural gas between 2,212 and 2,250 metres.
In the initial investigation, the gas samples found were found to be about 87% methane, which is considered a very clean and high quality source of energy. This discovery is being considered a milestone towards understanding the hydrocarbon potential of the basin.
Why is this discovery so special?
This is the first time that the presence of natural gas in the Andaman Basin has been officially confirmed. The importance of this discovery can be understood from the fact that Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has compared it with the oil fields of the South American country Guyana. The discovery of oil in Guyana completely transformed the economy of that small country. Puri believes that this discovery of Andaman can prove to be equally transformative for India.
This discovery is also an important part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious “National Deep Water Exploration Mission” i.e. “Samudra Manthan”, which he announced on Independence Day. After this success, the interest of world’s big energy companies like Petrobras, BP, Shell and ExxonMobil in India will also increase.
half the energy requirement will be met
According to the international energy agency Rystad Energy, India in the Andaman Basin Can have the capacity to meet 50% of energy needs. The agency’s Asia-Pacific Research Head Prateek Pandey said that initial estimates from the seismic survey suggest that hydrocarbons equivalent to 307 to 370 million metric tons of oil may be hidden in this region.
This figure raises great hopes for India’s energy future. However, he also cautioned that it could take a decade or more to bring such a discovery to commercial production. The process from discovery to production is long, complex and expensive, requiring many technical and environmental approvals.
This discovery will change the picture of India
Today India imports more than 85% of its crude oil and about 44% of natural gas from abroad. Billions of dollars are spent on this every year. If this discovery of Andaman is commercially successful, it will reduce the dependence on imports to a great extent, thereby strengthening the energy security of the country. Moreover, methane is a cleaner fuel than coal and oil, which will also help India meet its climate goals.
Earlier, Hardeep Singh Puri had also said that a big discovery like Guyana can play an important role in realizing the dream of taking India’s 3.7 trillion dollar economy to 20 trillion dollars. At present, Indian companies like ONGC and Oil India are doing initial drilling and the government is also preparing to involve foreign investors and technical partners in this mission. This discovery can bring a big change on the front of employment, investment and energy security in the coming years.