Scrap ‘Samudra Manthan’ Scheme; Stop Benefitting Adani; Strengthen ONGC: Congress
New Delhi, August 31: The Congress today demanded the immediate scrapping of the newly approved ‘Samudra Manthan’ scheme, alleging that the initiative has been specifically designed to benefit the Adani Group at the direct expense of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Addressing a press conference in the national capital today, senior Congress leader and spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil revealed details of the Union Cabinet’s recent clearance of the policy. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Samudra Manthan scheme—officially titled the National Offshore Exploration Scheme—with a massive outlay of ₹84,084 crore in its initial phase.
Gohil alleged that under this national framework, the Union Government has pledged to provide up to 50% financial support for offshore exploration activities. While the administration claims the scheme aims to reduce exploration risks and boost investment in the hydrocarbon sector, Gohil noted that the underlying framework is tailored to singularly profit the Adani Group.
Specifically, Gohil pointed to Adani Welspun Exploration Limited (AWEL), a venture in which the Adani Group holds a 65% stake acquired in 2005, with the remaining 35% owned by the Welspun Group.
“The Samudra Manthan scheme will spell an ‘Amrit Kaal’ for the Adani Group,” Gohil charged. He stated that under the policy terms, the government will bear 50% of the costs for deep-sea well drilling, 2D and 3D seismic surveys, artificial intelligence-led reprocessing of geological data, and offshore infrastructure development undertaken by AWEL.
Highlighting the financial scale of deep-sea exploration, Gohil noted that drilling a single deep-water well averages over ₹1,100 crore. Because AWEL is an unlisted joint venture, standalone financial statements are not publicly released. However, disclosures in Adani Enterprises’ FY 2024-25 Annual Report show net assets of negative ₹410 crore and a share of loss amounting to ₹2.2 crore.
Despite these figures, AWEL holds exploration rights in key blocks including the B-9 cluster, the MB-OSN-2005/2 block in the Mumbai Offshore Basin, Tapi Daman, and Kutch. With AWEL preparing to begin major exploration activities in the coming months, Gohil asserted that the firm will now execute its operations funded significantly by Indian taxpayers, while gaining access to critical public resources and pipeline infrastructure.
“Secure and uninterrupted access to energy resources is of strategic importance to our nation,” Gohil said, emphasizing that domestic oil and gas production must expand to reduce import reliance. “But why is the Modi government using public money to de-risk private corporate exploration?”
He questioned why public sector giant ONGC was not assigned the primary role in this national objective, given its decades of technical expertise. Gohil accused the government of undermining ONGC’s operational interests to favor a single private entity.
Under the current scheme, the Congress leader outlined several key concerns. First, AWEL will accelerate deep-water and ultra-deep-water exploration using public funds. Second, the framework creates an asymmetric risk structure where the government absorbs financial risks while profits remain entirely private. Finally, rather than routing ₹84,084 crore to ONGC to generate public sector jobs for unemployed youth, the capital is directed toward private corporate support.
Gohil drew parallels to past policy decisions, including LIC investments, regulatory changes in airport bidding requirements, modified land allocation rules in Kutch, and safeguards in national grain storage.
Concluding the address, the Congress demanded that the Samudra Manthan scheme either be scrapped or the entire ₹84,084 crore allocation be redirected to ONGC. “Samudra Manthan should churn the ocean for India, not churn taxpayer money to guarantee profits for a private company,” Gohil declared.
