October 3, 2026: Vedanta’s plan to invest about $200 million in Rajasthan’s mature oil fields is more than a company production target. It is a test of whether enhanced recovery from existing wells can slow the decline of India’s domestic crude supply while consumption continues to rise. The company says it will spend approximately $200 million, or ₹20 billion, in 2026-27 across the Mangla, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields in northern Rajasthan.

The immediate focus is Mangla, the field that helped turn Barmer into India’s largest onshore oil-producing region after its discovery in 2004. Vedanta Oil and Gas, formerly known as Cairn India, is targeting production of more than 150,000 barrels per day from Mangla, compared with about 80,000 bpd currently. The proposed increase is intended to come from existing assets rather than a newly discovered field.

That distinction is important. The company’s plan is built around extracting more from producing wells as the underlying reservoirs mature. Vedanta interim chief executive officer and whole-time director Jim Johnny Gast said producing fields were experiencing natural declines of 1% to 3%. The company is therefore relying on polymer flooding, well interventions and other enhanced-recovery methods to counter the decline.

Mangla’s production strategy includes polymer flooding and alkaline-surfactant-polymer injection. These methods are designed to improve the movement of oil through a reservoir and increase the quantity that can ultimately be recovered. According to Gast, recovery from producing wells has reached 41%, while Vedanta has set a target of 60%.

(Source: Urban Acres)