Rising tensions in the Gulf countries and blockages in vital maritime trade routes—such as the Strait of Hormuz—have shaken the entire world. Due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and other countries, crude oil prices are once again skyrocketing in the international market. Amid growing concerns around the world over oil supply, every Indian’s eyes are now on the country’s domestic oil production. While India imports a large part of its oil needs, ‘Mumbai High’, nestled amidst the waves of the Arabian Sea, remains the strongest bastion of India’s energy security.
India’s largest oil field
India’s largest and most important oil field is ‘Mumbai High’ (formerly known as Bombay High). This is not a well built on the ground; Rather, it is a huge offshore oil field located right in the middle of the Arabian Sea, about 160 kilometers off the coast of Mumbai. Here, crude oil and natural gas are produced by building platforms in the depths of the sea. Due to its tremendous potential and strategic importance, this field alone contributes more than 35 per cent of India’s total domestic oil production, thus serving as the backbone of the country’s economy.
Role of Russian experts and history of discovery
The story behind the discovery of Mumbai High is quite interesting. It was discovered in February 1974 by a joint team of Indian and Russian experts. At that time, India was moving towards becoming completely self-sufficient in meeting its energy needs. Just two years after its discovery—on May 21, 1976—the site began producing oil on a commercial scale. Initially, only 3,500 barrels of oil were extracted daily; But, with improvements in technology and infrastructure, this figure increased to 80,000 barrels per day in just three years.
At present, Mumbai High remains the largest center of domestic oil production in India. According to statistics, around 134,000 to 150,000 barrels of crude oil is extracted from this place every day. The work here is handled by the big public sector company, ONGC. To transport this oil from the middle of the ocean to the mainland, a huge pipeline was laid under the sea in 1978, which takes the oil directly to the refineries of Mumbai. Before the construction of this pipeline, crude oil was transported to the coast with the help of big tankers.
Other major oil fields of Rajasthan and Assam
Although Mumbai High is India’s largest offshore oil field, India also has vast oil reserves on land. Barmer Basin of Rajasthan is the largest onshore oil field of India, from where oil is extracted in large quantities. From a historical point of view, Digboi in Assam is the oldest oil field not only in India but in the whole of Asia, which was established in 1889. Overall, all these oil fields play an important role in meeting India’s energy needs; However, domestic production is still far short of demand.
Modern technology and future challenges
As time goes on, extracting oil from aging wells is becoming more difficult and expensive. Since Mumbai High is a several decades old oil field, new and modern technologies are now being used to maintain production levels there. ONGC is currently working with international companies like BP to take advantage of modern deep-sea drilling technologies. The government aims to increase domestic production to reduce dependence on imports—especially given the war-like situation in the Gulf region.
