Oil India Ltd (OIL) has discovered natural gas in a shallow-water offshore block in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, with testing recording a peak flow rate of 200,000 standard cubic metres per day (SCMD), the company said Friday.
The state-owned explorer that the discovery was made in the previously unappraised Matsyapuri formation in a block secured through recent Discovered Small Field (DSF) bid rounds.
Oil India shares were trading at Rs 447.50 apiece on the BSE, down 1.69 per cent as of 12.34 PM on Friday.
The discovery was made at the Godavari-1 appraisal well in the KG-DSF/GSKW/2018 offshore block. Testing of a hydrocarbon-bearing zone at a depth of 2,024-2,027 metres began on October 16, 2026, the company said.
The well has flowed gas at around 100,000 SCMD, with the maximum rate of 200,000 SCMD recorded during continuous testing. OIL also reported condensate production of around 170 barrels per day.
The company is preparing to test the next higher zone. It did not disclose an estimate of the potential resources held by the discovery.
The find adds to exploration activity in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, a key offshore hydrocarbon-producing region on India's east coast. The basin has played an important role in efforts to expand domestic natural gas production.
India continues to rely on imports to meet a substantial share of its natural gas requirements. Developing domestic resources is therefore important to the country's efforts to strengthen energy security and reduce dependence on overseas supplies.
The government aims to increase natural gas's share of India's energy mix to 15% by 2030, from around 6% currently.