India's Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has revealed that India is very close to discovering a Guyana-scale oil field in the Andaman Sea, which could hold as much as 184,440 crore litres of crude oil. In an interview with The New Indian, Hardeep Singh Puri said the government’s recent reforms and aggressive exploration drive are laying the groundwork for a major find. He added that apart from smaller finds, a large-scale oil discovery in the Andaman region—similar to Guyana’s—could help expand India’s economy from $3.7 trillion to $20 trillion. If confirmed, a find of this scale—comparable to Guyana’s 11.6 billion barrel discovery—could reshape India’s energy landscape.

If exploration in the Andaman succeeds, India could significantly reduce oil imports and boost its economic position. India continues to rely heavily on crude oil imports to meet its energy needs. Government data shows that more than 85% of the country’s crude oil is sourced from international suppliers. Globally, India ranks as the third-largest importer of crude oil, following the United States and China.