Understanding Regional EEZ ,Offshore Hydrocarbons , Seabed Mining & Offshore Wind Energy

Offshore Wind Energy in India emerged from nascent ocean exposure or deployment of offshore infrastructure in India replete with social and environmental challenges. India’s lengthy coastline possesses extensive offshore wind energy potential supported by almost 2.3 million sq.km of exclusive economic zones . India is unique having nine maritime states with the longest coastline being of Gujarat followed by Tamil Nadu. There has been advancement  in the offshore energy infrastructure in India and its oil and gas industry. India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has been operating offshore oil and gas fields in Mumbai, known as “Bombay High ” , since 1976. On the eastern coast offshore field potential exists in the Krishna–Godavari– Mahanadi basin . The subsea joint venture project of Reliance and British Petroleum in the Krishna–Godavari basin is a recent development through installation of ultra deep infrastructures for extraction of gas. Three recently developed deep water gas projects are anticipated to supply around 15 % of India’s gas demand by the year 2023. India has been enterprising as evident from its “Deep Ocean Mission” focusing on exploring sub-sea minerals and energy and has allocated 40 billion rupees in a staggered manner.

Worldwide research is being done on maritime oriented renewable energy sources as well as advocating policies governing maritime energy development and concurrent institutional frameworks to assess environmental impact at national and international levels. A convention to conserve ocean resources and prevent pollution of the high seas (beyond EEZ ) has been signed of by 73 countries and will come into force when a minimum of 60 countries ratify the convention.