NEW DELHI: In a significant development, natural gas has been found in the Andaman basin, confirming the long-held belief that the Andaman Sea is rich in natural gas, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday. 

The minister informed about the occurrence of natural gas in the Sri Vijayapuram 2 well at a distance of 9.20 NM (17 km) from the shoreline on the east coast of the Andaman Islands at a water depth of 295 metres and target depth of 2,650 metres.

“An ocean of energy opportunities opens up in the Andaman Sea,” said the minister in a post on social media platform X.

“Initial production testing of the well in the range of 2212 – 2250 meters has established the presence of natural gas with intermittent flaring. The gas samples were brought by ship to Kakinada, were tested and found to be 87 per cent methane,” he further stated.

An ocean of energy opportunities opens up in the Andaman Sea!

Very happy to report the occurrence of natural gas in Sri Vijayapuram 2 well at a distance of 9.20 NM (17 km) from the shoreline on the east coast of the Andaman Islands at a water depth of 295 meters and target depth… pic.twitter.com/4VDeGtt8bt
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) September 26, 2025

According to the minister, the size of the gas pool and commercial viability of the discovery will get verified in the coming months but establishing the presence of hydrocarbons in the Andaman basin is a major step in confirming their long-held belief that Andaman basin is rich in natural gas, “in line with discoveries in the entire area from Myanmar in North to Indonesia in the south in this belt”.

“Under the deepwater mission announced by PM Narendra Modi on Independence Day, large number of deepwater exploration wells are planned in our offshore basins in order to find new discoveries and fully exploit our hydrocarbon reserves,” said Puri.

This occurrence of natural gas will help the country take forward its exploration ambitions in coordination with global deepwater exploration experts, and will be a significant milestone in India’s journey through Amrit Kaal, the minister emphasised.

PM Modi, in his Independence Day address, announced the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, which aims to explore oil and gas reserves in the sea. Terming it “Samudra Manthan,” he said that the initiative will be executed in mission mode, highlighting India’s push for self-reliance in the energy sector.

A Bank of England policymaker has dismissed suggestions that inflation is a problem unique to Britain, as she called for more interest rate cuts.

Swati Dhingra, a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), argued there was no need to be “overly cautious” about lowering borrowing costs.

Writing in The Times, Ms Dhingra said: “It’s become commonplace to assert that inflation in the UK is out of step with other economies, requiring a more careful approach to cutting interest rates as a result.

“With prices for services and food rising more quickly than in the major eurozone countries, inflation looks like a particularly British problem.”

But she said that was not the case and that the factors putting pressure on UK inflation “will fade”.

A report from the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) earlier this week found that Britain will experience the highest level of inflation among the G7 group of advanced economies this year.

In 2026, the overall inflation rate will be the second highest in the G7, behind only the US, according to its forecasts.

Ms Dhingra said food prices are often a named “culprit for accelerating inflation”, having risen at a faster pace in the UK than in the eurozone.

“But it’s not clear that this gap reflects anything other than global trends and slightly different supply chains and shopping baskets in the two economies,” she wrote.

“The difference in inflation between the UK and our continental neighbours can be largely explained by administered prices and global commodity shocks.

“These should pass.

“We can afford to cut rates further and not put additional strain on economic growth without threatening the inflation target.”

Her comments contrast to remarks made by fellow MPC member Megan Greene earlier this week, who said risks to the UK’s inflation outlook may have increased.

Ms Greene said a “cautious approach to rate cuts going forward” was appropriate in the face of “uncertainty and risks” to the economy.