India's deep-sea bet: Centre's 'Samudra Manthan' to churn crude — How it works

Months of turmoil in the Middle East have wrecked global energy supplies, forcing countries to rethink their energy security strategies. India, however, is looking inward. Rather than relying more heavily on imports, the government is betting on finding more oil and gas beneath its own seas by sharing the financial risks of deepwater exploration, an area companies have long avoided because of the high costs and uncertain returns.Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the Rs 84,084 crore Samudra Manthan National Offshore Exploration Scheme, under which the Centre will fund 50% of the cost of drilling a deepwater or ultra-deepwater exploration well, or up to Rs 650 crore per well, whichever is lower.