Cairn Oil & Gas to spotlight India’s Hydrocarbon Potential and Huge Investment Opportunities at CERAWeek 2026
Houston – Cairn Oil & Gas, part of Vedanta Group and India’s largest private oil and gas producer, will participate in the 44th annual gathering of CERAWeek by S&P Global, the world’s premier energy conference, being held from March 23 – 27 in Houston, Texas.
As India has opened large no-go areas in deep and ultra-deepwater blocks under the ongoing Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bidding Round X – in line with the country’s Prime Minister announcing the National Deepwater Exploration Mission and investment opportunities worth $500 billion in its energy sector by the end of this decade.
Leading private operator, Cairn Oil & Gas, has planned $4 Bn investments in onshore recovery enhancement and offshore exploration and development to unlock the hydrocarbons in Indian basins. The company is inviting US-based operators and service providers to collaborate for a range of growth projects in the world’s fastest growing energy market. India holds over 300 billion barrels of untapped resources, presenting a significant opportunity across onshore and offshore basins.
As one of the fastest-growing major economies, India’s energy demand continues to rise rapidly. The country currently imports nearly 90% of its crude oil, underscoring the scale of opportunity for domestic exploration and production. With energy demand projected to grow steadily over the next two decades, India is prioritising domestic resource development to strengthen energy security while supporting economic growth.
Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta will be attending the annual global energy leaders meeting later this month to discuss India’s expanding upstream landscape and partnership opportunities.
Recent regulatory initiatives such as the Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) Rules 2025 and the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round X represent significant opportunities for global investors in the upstream sector. Government of India’s progressive policy reforms and investor friendly frameworks are enabling ease of doing business of foreign players. OALP Round X – India’s largest oil and gas bidding round – offers nearly 192,000 sq. km across 25 blocks in 13 sedimentary basins. Out of 25 blocks, 13 deep and ultra-deepwater opportunities open new exploration frontiers for global energy companies.
Cairn’s growth roadmap covers six high-potential opportunity areas:
- Deepwater exploration and development in high prospect in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin on the country’s East Coast
- Shallow-water offshore projects in its West Coast. The company has made a recent discovery in its appraisal well Ambe-2A on the West Coast
- Frontier exploration in North-East India — India’s first oil in Digboi and recent discoveries made by Cairn – Rudra 1 and Hazarigaon
- Gas reservoir recovery enhancement
- Tight oil development
- Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies
With a strong portfolio of producing assets and large-scale recovery enhancement programs underway, Cairn is exploring strategic partnerships and EPCM collaborations with global technology providers, service companies, and investors to accelerate India’s energy development.
With a world-class resource base, Cairn holds interests in 44 blocks covering more than 47,000 sq. km across India’s sedimentary basins and has produced over 1.3 billion barrels of oil to date.
About Cairn Oil & Gas
Cairn Oil & Gas, part of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company. With a world-class resource base, Cairn has an interest in 44 blocks in India spread over 47,000 square kilometres with gross 2P (Gross Proved Plus Probable Reserves) and 2C (Gross Contingent Reserves) of 1.4 bnboe. Cairn has producing assets across Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Assam, and has spearheaded several technological innovations with high-reward prospects, over the last three decades years of its operations. The company has a vision to contribute 50% of India’s domestic production, executing one of the largest exploration projects in the country across its diversified portfolio comprising conventional and unconventional projects such as Tight Oil & Gas, Deep & Shallow Water, ASP Injection, Deep Gas and Satellite Field Monetisation.
Cairn is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2030 by prioritising environmental resilience and is driving transformative social impact at scale. It became the first Indian company to attain ‘Gold Standard Pathway’ recognition by United Nations’ Environment Programme – OGMP 2.0.
