The growing reliance on overseas suppliers exposes India to global price volatility, shipping disruptions, and geopolitical instability, particularly in West Asia. While the discovery at the Sri Vijayapuram-3 in the Andaman Sea is still under appraisal, successful commercial production could gradually supplement domestic gas supplies and reduce India’s dependence on imported LNG over the long term.
India’s recent natural gas discovery at the Sri Vijayapuram-3 exploratory well in the Andaman Sea is more than an offshore energy update. The well, drilled by Oil India Ltd (OIL), is located about 15 km off the east coast of the Andaman Islands, at a water depth of 355 meters. Initial production testing at depths of more than 1,900 meters confirmed the presence of natural gas through continuous flaring. Gas sampling is still underway, which means commercial viability has not yet been established. But the discovery matters because it strengthens the geological case for the Andaman Basin as a future hydrocarbon province.
New Delhi’s growing dependence on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) highlights the importance of discoveries such as Sri Vijayapuram-3. The country’s LNG imports increased from around 15 million metric tonnes(MMT) in 2011–12 to 31 MMT in 2024–25, nearly doubling within a decade. This growing reliance on overseas suppliers exposes India to global price volatility, shipping disruptions, and geopolitical instability, particularly in West Asia. While the Andaman discovery is still under appraisal, successful commercial production could gradually supplement domestic gas supplies and reduce India’s dependence on imported LNG over the long term.
India’s Search for Energy Security
The discovery’s significance therefore lies less in its immediate output and more in its strategic potential. As India seeks to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 percent by 2030, commercially viable reserves in the Andaman Basin could help offset future LNG import growth, diversify supply sources, and strengthen the country’s long-term energy security.
The Hormuz Challenge
The timing of the discovery makes it vital, as the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most sensitive energy chokepoints. In 2024, around 20 percent of global LNG trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz, mainly from Qatar. An estimated 83 percent of the LNG that moved through the Strait of Hormuz in 2024 went from Persian Gulf countries to Asian markets. China, India, and South Korea were the top destinations for LNG moving through the Strait of Hormuz, accounting for 52 percent of all Hormuz LNG flows in 2024. The strait also carried around 20 million barrels per day of petroleum flows in 2024, equal to about 20 percent of global petroleum liquids consumption. Any escalation in West Asia can therefore raise freight costs, insurance premiums, and LNG prices for Asian importers, including India.
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The discovery also fits into India’s broader offshore exploration push under the Samudra Manthan Mission, which promises to reduce LNG import dependence by 3–8 percent. With commercial production expected by 2034-2036, the project requires Rs 8,000-12,000 crore in infrastructure investment and partnerships with global experts such as TotalEnergies to accelerate development. The Andaman Sea is particularly important because it lies along a hydrocarbon belt connected to parts of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Indonesia. Earlier reporting around Sri Vijayapuram – 2 also indicated high methane content in the discovered gas, reinforcing interest in the basin’s potential.
Samudra Manthan: A Risk Reduction Strategy
Samudra Manthan is not merely an energy exploration initiative but a long-term risk reduction strategy aimed at strengthening India’s energy security. By expanding exploration in underexplored deepwater basins such as the Andaman Sea, the mission seeks to diversify India’s domestic hydrocarbon base and reduce vulnerability to external supply disruptions. It also addresses a critical weakness in India’s energy supply chain: its dependence on imported fuel transported through vulnerable maritime routes and geopolitical hotspots.
Strategic Value of Andaman and Nicobar
However, the significance of the Andaman Basin extends beyond hydrocarbons. The same geography that could support offshore energy production also underpins India’s maritime strategy in the Indo-Pacific. The island’s location near the Malacca Strait makes it one of India’s most important maritime assets in the Indo-Pacific. A large share of global trade and China’s energy imports from the Middle East move through the Malacca route. In a nutshell, the island can assist India in monitoring sea lanes linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
This is where the Great Nicobar Project becomes relevant. Approved at an estimated cost of over Rs 72,000 crore, the project includes an International Transshipment port at Galetha Bay, a greenfield airport, power infrastructure, and a new township. Together, these facilities are expected to transform Great Nicobar into a major transshipment hub in the eastern Indian Ocean. If developed responsibly, Great Nicobar can become a strategic monitoring post which will help India track naval movement, commercial shipping, and potential disruptions across one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.
Conclusion
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) hold a vital position in India’s maritime security framework. Situated near key international Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), such as the Malacca Strait, the archipelago has gained increased significance, particularly due to China’s assertive maritime posture. Amid the growing West Asian instability and Indo-Pacific competition, India’s eastern islands are no longer peripheral. They are becoming central to how India thinks about energy security, maritime power, and its future role in the Indo-Pacific.
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