As per the report of Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, 2024, India is the world third-largest energy consumer. Further, India’s energy consumption is increasing continuously, due to sustained economic growth over the last few years, through industrialisation, urbanisation, transportation needs, infrastructure development, rising income, improved standard of living, increased access to modern energy coupled with increase in private consumption and gross fixed capital formation, etc. resulting in increasing import of Crude Oil. Currently, about ~13% of oil and ~53% of gas are domestically produced by E&P companies. Exploration and Production (E&P) contributes to reducing the country’s dependence on imported oil and gas through various mechanisms. Production of crude oil has been 29.36 MMT during 2023-24 and 14.4 MMT (provisionally) during the current year 2024-25. As per International Energy Agency, projected demand of oil and petrol in India, by 2030, would be 6.6 mb/d (million barrel per day) and 1.0 mb/d respectively.

Government has been taking various steps to boost domestic oil and gas production and accelerate the pace of exploration activities which, inter-alia, include:

i. Policy under PSC regime for early monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries, 2014.

ii. Discovered Small Field Policy, 2015.

iii. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), 2016.

iv. Policy for Extension of PSCs, 2016 and 2017.

v. Policy for early monetization of Coal Bed Methane, 2017.

vi. Setting up of National Data Repository, 2017.

vii. Appraisal of Un-appraised areas in Sedimentary Basins under National Seismic Programme, 2017.

viii. Policy framework for extension of PSCs for Discovered Fields and Exploration Blocks under Pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy (Pre-NELP), 2016 and 2017.

ix. Policy to Promote and Incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods for Oil and Gas, 2018.

x. Policy Framework for exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Hydrocarbons under Existing Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Contracts and Nomination Fields, 2018.

xi. Natural Gas Marketing Reforms, 2020.

xii. Lower Royalty Rates, Zero Revenue Share (till Windfall Gain) and no drilling commitment in Phase-I in OALP Blocks under Category II and III basins to attract bidders.

xiii. Release of about 1 Million Sq. Km. (SKM) ‘No-Go’ area in offshore which were blocked for exploration for decades.

xiv. Government is also spending about Rs.7500 Cr. for acquisition of seismic data in onland and offshore areas and drilling of stratigraphic wells to make quality data of Indian Sedimentary Basins available to bidders. Government has approved acquisition of additional 2D Seismic data of 20,000 LKM in onland and 30,000 LKM in offshore beyond Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India.

This information was given by THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SHRI SURESH GOPI, in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

 

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MONIKA

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