Oil India has confirmed the presence of natural gas at its third exploratory well off the east coast of the Andaman Islands in India.
The well, Vijayapuram-3, situated in 355m of water in the Andaman offshore block AN-OSHP-2018/1, was drilled as part of the company’s ongoing operations under India’s Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The company has now identified hydrocarbons in two out of three wells drilled in this offshore area. Oil India reported an earlier occurrence of natural gas at its second exploratory well, Vijayapuram-2, in September 2025.
Testing at Vijayapuram-3 was carried out at a depth of more than 1,900m in the Eocene formation. Continuous flaring during initial production testing provided evidence of natural gas presence.
The well recorded immediate pressure build-up after perforation, which led to gas production. Oil India is currently conducting further gas sampling to analyse the composition and calorific value, and to perform isotope studies.
The company stated that preliminary assessments suggest this finding points to the existence of a source, migration route or accumulation of hydrocarbons in the area. It expects the outcome will assist in planning future exploration activities.
Following the previous gas discovery at Vijayapuram-2, the company launched an appraisal programme. Oil India has completed reprocessing of available 2D seismic data and acquired an additional 600km² of 3D seismic data.
Processing of both new and historic 3D seismic data is ongoing, after which drilling of appraisal wells is planned.
Block AN-OSHP-2018/1, covering around 3,669km², was awarded to Oil India in 2019 under OALP Round II.
The majority of the area, 3,438.61km², lies offshore, with the remaining 230.64km²on land.
Under the terms of its work programme, Oil India committed to acquiring marine seismic data and drilling four exploratory wells in partnership with the Government of India.
The company obtained approval to replace part of its planned 3D seismic acquisition with additional 2D seismic work following a swap proposal submitted to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons in late 2019.
The current exploration campaign aims to further assess the hydrocarbon potential of the region.
