India believes it has ‘Guyana-like’ potential in oil sector 

India is expanding oil and gas production in the Andaman region, an area the government believes holds huge reserves similar to those in Guyana.

The country’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri told ANI that the Narendra Modi government is expanding crude exploration and production, greenlighting bid rounds. He said there is much optimism about production soon, as a few wells dug recently had substantial reserves.

So great is this optimism that Minister Puri said India could have oil finds as large as Guyana’s.

“What I’ve been saying is we have the potential of several Guyanas in the Andaman [Sea], and I also said that we are looking at the possibility, thanks to this additional exploration and production, of finding a Guyana,” the Indian Minister said during an interview with ANI.

Guyana’s proven reserves in the prolific Stabroek Block are about 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent; oil production began in 2015 and is likely to exceed one million barrels daily by 2027.

India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, has been trying to secure some of Guyana’s crude in direct transactions that would guarantee supply and price. Such a deal has not yet been worked out, though a key cooperation framework to enhance bilateral cooperation in the petroleum sector was inked last year when Prime Minister Modi visited Guyana.

Now, however, the Indian government is hoping to tap into its oil and gas potential and meet some of its own needs.