Oil India Strikes Gas Again: Inside the Andaman Offshore Vijaypuram-3 Discovery

Mumbai. Saturday, 6 June 2026

State-owned Maharatna oil and gas major, Oil India Limited (OIL), has officially announced its second consecutive natural gas discovery in the highly anticipated Andaman offshore region. The landmark breakthrough occurred at the Vijaypuram-3 exploratory well, significantly raising expectations that the frontier Andaman basin will evolve into India’s next massive domestic hydrocarbon-producing hub.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, lauded the achievement, emphasizing that the discovery marks a turning point for India’s deepwater exploration campaign.

Key Technical Specifications of the Discovery

In its regulatory filings submitted to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Oil India outlined the exact parameters of the successful drilling operation:

Verifying the Find: Continuous Gas Flaring and Seismic Data

During initial production testing, engineers perforated the Eocene formation at a depth of over 1,900 meters. The well responded with an immediate and robust reservoir pressure build-up, initiating active gas production. The presence of a viable commercial gas resource was verified on-site through continuous gas flaring.

Oil India is now actively collecting gas samples to evaluate the specific gas composition and calorific (heating) value. Additionally, scientists are initiating isotope studies to map out the exact genesis (origin) of the hydrocarbons.

What’s Next? Following a successful discovery, an operator does not immediately build production pipelines. Oil India has already fast-tracked a comprehensive appraisal program. The company has reprocessed vintage 2D data and finalized the acquisition of 600 square kilometers of high-resolution 3D seismic data, which is currently being processed to plan upcoming appraisal wells.

Why the Andaman Basin is India’s “Guyana Moment”

For decades, the Andaman offshore basin was classified as a high-risk, unproven frontier. However, at India Energy Week (IEW) 2026, Oil India’s Chairman and Managing Director, Ranjit Rath, highlighted why the company’s confidence in the region has surged.

Geologists have mapped structural parallels between the Andaman-Nicobar block and highly prolific neighboring international energy hubs:

• North of Andaman: The region directly aligns with Myanmar’s massive offshore gas fields.

• South of Andaman: The geology matches the highly productive Sumatra basin in Indonesia.

This “basin commonality” reduces exploration risks and suggests that the Vijaypuram finds are not isolated pockets, but parts of a deeply connected, active petroleum system featuring established source rocks, migration pathways, and massive subterranean trapping traps.

Driving Toward 15% Gas in India’s Energy Mix

India currently relies heavily on international markets, importing approximately 50% of its natural gas as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). This heavy dependence exposes the domestic economy to volatile global price spikes.

By unlocking two successful gas-bearing wells out of three exploratory attempts in this block (following the initial Vijaypuram-2 success in September 2025), Oil India is laying the foundation to alter India’s energy landscape. Successfully commercializing the Andaman Basin will directly propel India toward its state objective: escalating the share of natural gas in the country’s primary energy mix from roughly 6% to 15% by 2030.

External Resources and In-Depth Reading

To stay updated on regional economic milestones, geopolitical energy shifts, and policy updates regarding India’s Open Acreage Licensing Policy, explore the latest English news coverage directly through Matribhumi Samachar English.