Oil India Reports Gas Discovery in Andaman Offshore Zone.

Hardeep Singh Puri announced recently that state-run Oil India has discovered the presence of natural gas in an exploratory offshore well near the Andaman Islands.

The discovery was made at the Sri Vijayapuram-3 well, located around 15 km off the eastern coast of the islands at a water depth of 355 metres.

In a post on X, the minister said initial production testing at a depth of over 1,900 metres in the Eocene formation confirmed the presence of natural gas, indicated by continuous flaring at the site. He added that Oil India is currently conducting gas sampling to determine the composition and calorific value of the gas, along with isotope studies to understand its origin.

The find comes as part of broader offshore exploration efforts under the Samudra Manthan Mission (National Deep Water Exploration Mission), announced by the Prime Minister on Independence Day 2025. The initiative aims to expand deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling across India’s offshore basins to fully tap hydrocarbon resources.