INDIA CEO SERIES: Vedanta Oil and Gas targets diversified portfolio amid energy security push

The India CEO Series by S&P Global Energy is a compilation of exclusive interviews by Asia Energy Editor Sambit Mohanty with some of the leaders of the biggest energy companies in India.

Vedanta Oil and Gas Ltd. is expanding India's upstream production pipeline through a diversified portfolio spanning Rajasthan, Assam, the North-East, and shallow water offshore assets, while also monitoring deepwater opportunities for sustained long-term growth, Interim CEO and Whole-time Director Jim Johnny Gast said.

"India remains significantly underexplored, with large prospective resources across conventional onshore and offshore basins, tight oil, deep gas and deepwater plays. Recent policy reforms have opened new opportunities for exploration and private investment; faster approvals, stable fiscal terms and longer lease tenures can further accelerate production growth," Gast told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, in an interview for the India CEO Series.

He added that India's upstream sector was entering a "defining decade". As the world's fastest-growing major economy, India's hydrocarbon demand will continue to rise, while nearly 90% of crude requirements and around 50% of natural gas needs are met through imports.

"Increasing domestic production is therefore both an economic opportunity and a strategic imperative for energy security," Gast said.

Vedanta Oil and Gas' diversified upstream portfolio includes 44 onshore and offshore blocks spanning over 47,000 sq. km, with a prospective resource base of around 2.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent, he added.

Gast said that the six growth engines of Vedanta Oil and Gas -- previously called Cairn Oil & Gas -- across conventional and unconventional resources in Rajasthan, shallow water, the North-East and deepwater basins would be central to India's next phase of hydrocarbon growth.

"Rajasthan North remains the core value driver, focused on enhanced oil recovery, ASP deployment, tight oil development and resource-to-reserve conversion, while Rajasthan South is emerging as a gas growth hub, anchored by deep gas and satellite field developments," he said.

The recent Kaam BCP-1ST gas discovery in the Kameshwari-Graben area is now under technical and commercial evaluation, he added.

In addition, the shallow water portfolios provide strong exploration and development prospects backed by existing infrastructure and monetization routes, while the Northeast represents a frontier opportunity to unlock new resources in an underexplored basin, Gast said.

"The deepwater portfolio, particularly in the KG Basin, is a long-term potential transformational growth lever with the possibility of potential to materially expand reserves and production," he added.

Working toward production targets

To achieve a production target of 500,000 boe/d, Vedanta is planning investments across exploration, appraisal, development drilling, production facilities, enhanced oil recovery, and digital technologies, Gast added.

The company's current average gross operated production is around 80,000 boe/d, primarily driven by output from the Rajasthan block, with the company targeting 300,000 boe/d in the near term and 500,000 boe/d over the longer term.

According to S&P Global Energy CERA, the Rajasthan assets are the company's main cash cow and position it to remain highly liquids-weighted, compared with a general E&P-wide push toward gas-weighted assets.

The Indian cabinet in late July approved investments of up to 840 billion Indian rupees ($8.8 billion) over five years to advance offshore oil and gas exploration under the National Offshore Exploration Scheme. The initiative is expected to catalyze reserve accretion of over 600 million mt of oil equivalent by fiscal 2030-31, the petroleum ministry said July 31.

"Deepwater is a key long-term opportunity, with continued 3D seismic exploration in the KG Basin on the East Coast. The government of India's Samudra Manthan Scheme 2026 is a welcome step to advance deepwater exploration and unlock new energy resources. Through technology, expertise, and sustained investment, we aim to turn offshore potential into a strategic pillar of India's energy security," Gast said.

He said that India will remain one of the largest drivers of global energy demand over the next decade.

Untapped potential, policy reforms

Oil and gas will remain central to India's energy mix even as renewables scale up. India has 26 sedimentary basins covering approximately 3.36 million sq. km, yet more than half this acreage remains unexplored or under-appraised.

"For an import-reliant country like India, energy security requires all forms of energy. Oil and gas will remain central to the energy mix as demand continues to grow, even as the transition accelerates," Gast said.

He added that while recent upstream reforms are encouraging, India should further enhance ease of doing business, expedite approvals, ensure policy stability, extend lease tenures, and improve infrastructure access to unlock domestic resources and attract greater global investment.

"Every barrel produced in India reduces import dependence, strengthens national resilience and supports long-term growth. The opportunity is to meet rising energy needs while building a secure, self-reliant, and globally competitive energy future," he said.

Vedanta Oil and Gas Ltd. listed its equity shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India June 15, 2026, creating India's leading independently listed private-sector upstream company. The demerger from its parent will enable the oil and gas business to pursue accelerated growth, unlock greater value from one of India's largest private upstream portfolios, and attract long-term investments into India's upstream energy sector, the company said the same day.