Page 43 - Policy Economic Report - April 2025

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

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India Reinforces Commitment to Energy Security and Exploration Growth: Shri Hardeep Singh Puri at
OALP IX & Special DSF Signing Ceremony

“The Indian hydrocarbon sector is entering a new era of accelerated exploration and development,” said
Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, while addressing the Open Acreage
Licensing Policy (OALP) Round-IX and Special Discovered Small Field (DSF) Signing Ceremony. He
highlighted that through investor-friendly reforms, swift approvals, scientific exploration, and a strong
emphasis on sustainability, India is steadily building a resilient and future-ready energy ecosystem aligned
with the vision of Viksit Bharat.

Addressing the esteemed gathering of dignitaries, industry stakeholders, and investors, Shri Puri noted
that today’s signing ceremony signifies much more than the completion of a procedural formality—it is a
powerful testament to India’s unwavering commitment to reducing its import dependence and securing
its energy future.

With India currently reliant on imports for 88% of its crude oil and 50% of its natural gas needs, the urgency
for domestic exploration and production has never been greater. As the Minister pointed out, “In the next
two decades, 25% of the world’s incremental energy demand growth will come from India.”

Reflecting on the past, Shri Puri acknowledged the challenges the Indian upstream sector faced between
2006 and 2016 a “dull decade” marred by policy paralysis and procedural delays, leading to the exit of
global energy giants like BG, ENI, and Santos. However, the tide has turned. “We were determined to
unlock India’s untapped energy potential, estimated at approximately 42 billion tonnes of oil and oil
equivalent of gas,” he said.

To that end, the Government has implemented a series of transformative reforms over the past decade.
A key achievement has been the expansion of exploration activity, with the explored area of India’s
sedimentary basins increasing from 6% in 2014 to 10% today, with a target of reaching 15%. The Minister
reiterated the commitment to increasing exploration acreage to 1 million sq. km by 2030, highlighting the
dramatic 99% reduction in “No-Go” areas within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Scientific, data-driven exploration has been a cornerstone of this strategy, backed by a ?7,500 crore
investment into new seismic data acquisition, aerial surveys in remote terrains, and stratigraphic wells.
Importantly, geo-scientific data is now available for major basins on both coasts, with the National Data
Repository being upgraded to a cloud-based platform to ensure faster, transparent access to seismic,
production, and well data.

The Minister proudly noted that 76% of the total area currently under exploration has been brought under
active exploration only since 2014. Under OALP Round-IX alone, 28 blocks across eight sedimentary basins

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