State-controlled Oil India Limited (OIL) has begun an offshore exploration campaign in the Kerala-Konkan Basin, spudding a deep exploration well about 20 nautical miles off the Indian coast. The well is designed to reach around 6000 m below the seabed. At roughly that depth, the well ranks among the deepest drilled offshore in India. India’s petroleum ministry announced the start of drilling on 27 November 2025.

India’s petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the campaign targets Cretaceous plays in a basin that regulators classify as Category III. More than 1,028 sq km of 3D seismic data has already been acquired across the area, and this is the first offshore well in the Kerala-Konkan basin under the current drilling programme.

Puri has described the project as part of India’s drive to expand domestic oil and gas supplies and open up under-explored offshore acreage. India currently imports about 80% of its crude oil and roughly half of its natural gas, which highlights the strategic value of new offshore finds in basins such as Kerala-Konkan.