Five stocks to watch as India launches mega offshore oil and gas exploration mission

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is gearing up for one of its largest offshore oil and gas exploration campaigns in recent years.The government has planned extensive geological surveys across multiple eastern offshore basins.The timing is no coincidence. India still sources nearly 85% of its crude oil from overseas, along with a significant chunk of its natural gas needs.That dependence leaves the economy exposed; any spike in global crude prices, geopolitical flare-up, or supply disruption abroad quickly feeds into higher fuel costs and inflation at home.According to media reports, survey ships are expected to soon begin scanning vast stretches of the Bay of Bengal and nearby offshore regions to hunt for commercially viable hydrocarbon reserves buried beneath the seabed.The government has floated bids for a large-scale multi-basin exploration project covering the Bengal-Purnea, Mahanadi, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, and Andaman offshore basins—all using advanced 2D Broadband Marine Seismic and Gravity-Magnetic surveys.The scale is striking.

Bengal-Purnea and Mahanadi alone will cover nearly 45,000 line kilometres. Krishna-Godavari and Andaman will each see surveys across roughly 43,000 line kilometres, with Cauvery adding another 30,000.The work involves specialised seismic vessels fitted with long streamer cables that fire sound waves deep into the ocean floor and read the signals that bounce back, essentially giving scientists an X-ray of underground rock formations that may have trapped oil and gas over millions of years.As India pushes hard to boost domestic output and chip away at its import bill, here are five stocks worth keeping on your radar.The company is an oil and gas service provider offering