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Business Standard
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Hydrocarbon exploration auctions: ONGC may tie up with Petrobras, BP, RIL
India's largest-ever hydrocarbon exploration bidding round, offering 191,986.21 square kilometres under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round X, may see renewed interest from global oil and gas majors in the country's exploration and production (E&P) sector. According to multiple sources close to the development, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is already in talks with Brazil's Petrobras and London-headquartered BP Plc, in addition to domestic major Reliance Industries (RIL), to jointly bid for the round. The closing date for bid submission is July 31, according to the hydrocarbon regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons. Sources indicate that ONGC, which accounts for 70 per cent of India's domestic crude oil and natural gas production, is expected to show interest in all 25 blocks on offer during the round, while partners may be brought on board for exploration in deep and ultra-deep acreages. Official queries mailed to RIL, ONGC, BP, and Petrobras did not elicit a response. 'ONGC is keen on all 25 blocks on offer under OALP X — some alone and some with partners. Partners are being brought in because these are difficult areas and require a huge amount of money. We are engaging in talks with almost every company, including Petrobras, BP, and RIL,' said a source aware of the development. In OALP IX, of the 28 hydrocarbon blocks on offer earlier this year, ONGC secured 15 — four in partnership with other players and 11 independently. Of those, GS-OSHP-2022/2 in the Saurashtra Basin was a joint bid by ONGC (40 per cent participating interest), RIL (30 per cent), and BP Plc (30 per cent). That was the only time the three majors collaborated. ONGC has also had an association with Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, in the past. Interestingly, although Petrobras had a 15 per cent stake in KG-DWN-98/2 operated by ONGC, the Brazilian major relinquished it in early 2010 to focus on oil and gas finds back home. In April this year, Brazil's state-run oil firm's head of E&P, Sylvia Anjos, confirmed that it had already collected data to assess the potential of offshore areas in deep and ultra-deep waters in India for the upcoming round. In February, Petrobras signed a memorandum of understanding with both ONGC and Oil India Corporation for possible collaborations in India — including in upstream, marketing, decarbonisation, and low-carbon solutions. 'The company has teamed up with an international partner and a private sector entity earlier as well. There is no problem with that. We appreciate foreign entities coming into the E&P space in India,' a petroleum ministry official said, referring to state-run national oil and gas company ONGC. The government has been keen on drawing foreign entities into the E&P space for the past few years. However, a glut in global oil supply, combined with weak industrial demand in key markets, has dampened exploratory spirits, another executive pointed out. 'It's also no secret that foreign companies often opt for a local partner to navigate the Indian market. ONGC's tieups are just the latest reflection of that,' he said. In a first-of-its-kind move, BP was appointed by a public sector player to boost production in January, when ONGC brought the oil major on board to help ramp up output at the Mumbai High offshore oil field. The following month, both signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration in oil and gas exploration, production, trading, and new energy vectors, both in India and internationally.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Modi govt opened up one million sq km basin in big push for India's oil-gas hunt, says Hardeep Puri
The Narendra Modi government has opened up for oil and gas exploration, a staggering one million sq km of India's 3.5 million sq km sedimentary basin, which was off-limits for hydrocarbon exploration earlier, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday. "Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership, this entire 'No-Go' area has now been opened - to boost domestic output and cut import dependence," the minister said. He further stated that, along with the new law to govern exploration and production, several measures have been taken towards ease of doing business in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) sector. The Modi government has replaced the earlier New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) with the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) to accelerate the oil and gas hunt in the country. Under OALP IX, around 38 per cent of bids came for these newly opened zones, while in the next round of OALP X, this figure could rise to 75 per cent, the minister said. He pointed out that OALP X is India's largest ever round with as many as 25 Blocks on offer for oil and gas exploration in 13 sedimentary basins of the country, stretching across a vast 1,91,986.21 sq. km area. While six of these hydrocarbon exploration blocks are on land, six are in offshore shallow water, one is in deep water, and 12 are in ultra-deep-water areas, Puri explained. "The spotlight is now turning towards high-potential zones. The Andaman Sea, once unexplored, may soon emerge as India's Guyana-scale success story. And then, that's going to be truly India's Big Oil Moment!" the minister remarked. The minister had earlier said that the Indian hydrocarbon sector is entering a new era of accelerated exploration and development through investor-friendly reforms, swift approvals, scientific exploration, and a strong emphasis on sustainability. Minister Puri stated that in the next two decades, 25 per cent of the world's incremental energy demand growth will come from India Reflecting on the past, Puri said 2006 and 2016 were 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 added.
Hans India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Modi govt opened up one million sq km basin in big push for India's oil-gas hunt, says Hardeep Puri
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has opened up for oil and gas exploration, a staggering one million sq km of India's 3.5 million sq km sedimentary basin, which was off-limits for hydrocarbon exploration earlier, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday. 'Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership, this entire 'No-Go' area has now been opened - to boost domestic output and cut import dependence,' the minister said. He further stated that, along with the new law to govern exploration and production, several measures have been taken towards ease of doing business in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) sector. The Modi government has replaced the earlier New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) with the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) to accelerate the oil and gas hunt in the country. Under OALP IX, around 38 per cent of bids came for these newly opened zones, while in the next round of OALP X, this figure could rise to 75 per cent, the minister said. He pointed out that OALP X is India's largest ever round with as many as 25 Blocks on offer for oil and gas exploration in 13 sedimentary basins of the country, stretching across a vast 1,91,986.21 sq. km area. While six of these hydrocarbon exploration blocks are on land, six are in offshore shallow water, one is in deep water, and 12 are in ultra-deep-water areas, Puri explained. 'The spotlight is now turning towards high-potential zones. The Andaman Sea, once unexplored, may soon emerge as India's Guyana-scale success story. And then, that's going to be truly India's Big Oil Moment!' the minister remarked. The minister had earlier said that the Indian hydrocarbon sector is entering a new era of accelerated exploration and development through investor-friendly reforms, swift approvals, scientific exploration, and a strong emphasis on sustainability. Minister Puri stated that in the next two decades, 25 per cent of the world's incremental energy demand growth will come from India Reflecting on the past, Puri said 2006 and 2016 were 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 added.
News18
16-06-2025
- Business
- News18
Deep-Sea Oil Push Gains Momentum, Hardeep Puri Hints At India's ‘Guyana Moment' In Andamans
Last Updated: India has a sedimentary basin spread across 3.5 million square kilometres, but historically, only around 8 per cent of it has been explored. India is intensifying efforts to boost its domestic fossil fuel output, with a major focus now on deep-sea exploration in the Andaman region. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday highlighted a series of government initiatives to enhance oil and gas exploration. He expressed optimism about ongoing activity in the Andaman basin, suggesting it could be India's 'Guyana moment." India has a sedimentary basin spread across 3.5 million square kilometres, but historically, only around 8 per cent of it has been explored. Much of the country's offshore potential remains untapped. 'It is our government that made the decision to significantly expand exploration," Puri said. 'There were parts of the sedimentary basin which were no-go areas. So one of the decisions which we took was that 1 million square kilometres of that sedimentary basin, which was no-go area, has suddenly been made available for E&P," he added. According to Puri, under the nine rounds of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), about 38% of the bids targeted this newly opened 1 million sq km area. He expects that in the upcoming round, over 75 per cent of the bids will focus on that zone. 'We've also issued some of the largest bids on offer anywhere — something like 2.5 lakh square kilometres of area has been offered out on bidding," he stated. The Minister estimated that India's sedimentary basins hold a potential of 42 billion tonnes of oil and gas equivalent. However, he pointed out that offshore drilling remains expensive, which has slowed progress. 'An onshore well costs something like USD 4 million on an average… And an offshore well costs about USD 100 million," Puri said, emphasizing the financial scale of such ventures. He noted that ONGC, India's leading exploration and production company, has drilled the highest number of wells in nearly 40 years this year. Drawing a parallel with Guyana's massive oil discovery after 46 failed attempts, Puri remarked, 'They (Guyana) dug 46 wells and they didn't find any oil. It's when they dug the 47th one, they found oil. And then it became the largest find." He added, 'We have the potential of several Guyanas in the Andaman." Recent drilling efforts have also yielded promising results. In Suryamani, a find of 4 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent was reported. Neelmani showed a potential of 1.2 million metric tonnes, while another well at a depth of 2,865 metres revealed both oil and gas. 'This is under estimation. They're still trying to find out, but they have struck," Puri said. In the 2023-24 period under OALP 3, another well at a depth of 2,957 metres uncovered around 5 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent. 'Each place you found the oil, now you're estimating it, then you're digging deeper and deeper. As we speak, we have four places where ONGC and Oil India Limited are digging at 5,000 metres," he shared. Currently, India relies on imports for around 80% of its oil and 50% of its natural gas requirements. Last week, Puri chaired a review meeting with the petroleum secretary and top officials from Indian energy PSUs. He assured that the country has sufficient energy reserves to meet its needs in the coming months. This assurance comes at a time when global oil prices are volatile due to tensions in the Middle East, particularly the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. India continues to diversify its sources by importing oil and gas from a wide range of countries. First Published: June 16, 2025, 18:33 IST
The Hindu
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
A strategy fuelled by vision, powered by energy
A few days ago, India overtook Japan to become the world's fourth largest economy. Since 2014, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India's GDP has more than doubled to $4.3 trillion in 2025. This is the result of a decade-long strategy centred on reforms, resilience and relentless pursuit of self-reliance. India has not only become the world's fastest-growing major economy but is also a strategic force. The energy sector, integral to this rise, has undergone a structural transformation during the first year of Modi 3.0, building on 10 years of foundational change. More importantly, India's growth rate of 6.7% in the last quarter places it on a fast trajectory that none of the other countries can remotely hope to achieve in the coming years. Outlining an energy strategy India is now the third largest energy and oil consumer, fourth-largest refiner, and fourth-largest LNG importer globally. With energy demand expected to grow two and a half times by 2047 and 25% of incremental global demand set to come from India, the road map is clear: energy security is development security. The Modi government's energy strategy addresses the energy trilemma of availability, affordability, and sustainability through a four-pronged approach — diversification of sources and suppliers, expansion of domestic production, transition to renewables, and affordability. In the upstream oil and gas sector, India's exploration acreage has doubled from 8% in 2021 to 16% in 2025. With a goal of covering one million square kilometres by 2030, the government aims to unlock 42 billion tonnes of oil and oil-equivalent gas. This expansion has been enabled by landmark reforms such as the reduction of 'No-Go' areas by 99%, streamlined licensing through Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds, and attractive pricing incentives for new gas wells. The revised gas pricing mechanism — linking prices to 10% of the Indian crude basket and offering a 20% premium for new wells — has enhanced gas availability for city gas networks and industrial usage. To reduce costs and accelerate monetisation, new revenue-sharing contracts allow shared infrastructure among Exploration and Production (E&P) players. Technological and geophysical efforts have complemented policy reforms. The National Seismic Programme, Mission Anveshan, airborne gravity gradiometry (AGG) surveys, and continental shelf mapping have expanded data and exploration confidence, especially in frontier basins such as the Andamans, the Mahanadi, and the Cauvery. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Oil India have together made over 25 hydrocarbon discoveries across the Mumbai Offshore, Cambay, Mahanadi, and Assam basins in the last four years. Noteworthy among these are the Suryamani and Vajramani wells on the west coast offshore and the Utkal and Konark fields on the east coast deep waters. These discoveries add over 75 MMtoe (million metric tonnes of oil equivalent) and 2,700 MMSCM (million metric standard cubic metres) of gas to India's reserves. Collaborations with global majors are bearing fruit. ONGC's partnership with bp is projected to boost output from Mumbai High by 44% for oil and 89% for gas. A data centre at the University of Houston now facilitates access to India's exploration datasets for international investors. Downstream infrastructure has seen parallel expansion. India now operates 24,000 kilometres of product pipelines, nearly 96,000 retail outlets, and has significantly strengthened its strategic reserves and LPG storage. Over 67 million people visit petrol pumps daily, which is testimony to the scale and efficiency of India's fuel supply ecosystem. India's city gas network has grown from 55 geographic areas in 2014 to 307 in 2025, with piped natural gas (PNG) connections up from 25 lakh to 1.5 crore and over 7,500 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in operation. Unified pipeline tariffs and city gas expansions have ensured affordable access even in distant States. The focus of the green strategy Biofuels have emerged as a cornerstone of India's green strategy. Ethanol blending in petrol has surged from 1.5% in 2013 to 19.7% in 2025. Blending quantities have expanded from 38 crore litres to 484 crore litres. This has saved 1.26 lakh crore in foreign exchange, reduced emissions by 643 lakh MT, and paid ₹1.79 lakh crore to distillers and over ₹1 lakh crore to farmers. Feedstock diversification ranging from molasses to maize has created a robust ethanol ecosystem. Parallelly, the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative has commissioned over 100 compressed biogas (CBG) plants and aims for a 5% CBG blending mandate by 2028. Central support for biomass procurement and CBG-pipeline connectivity is accelerating circular energy adoption. Green hydrogen has been given a massive thrust with 8.62 lakh tonnes of production and 3,000 MW of electrolyser tenders awarded. Oil public sector undertakings are leading from the front — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) recently awarded a landmark 10 kilo-tonnes per annum (KTPA) green hydrogen tender to Larsen & Toubro for its Panipat refinery. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), and GAIL India Limited are similarly progressing with large-scale hydrogen projects, while the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)'s green hydrogen unit in Assam is poised to become a first in the northeast. India's natural gas pipeline network now spans over 25,000 km; it targets 33,000 km by 2030. Strategic pricing reforms and inclusion of gas in the 'No Cut' category for transport and domestic segments are ensuring supply stability. Gas production has increased steadily from 28.7 billion cubic metre (BCM) in 2020-21 to 36.4 BCM in 2023-24, with further growth projected. No other country has so drastically altered its 'Systems' as India, as evinced by the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act 2024 which has enabled hybrid leases, allowing renewables alongside hydrocarbons. Discovered small fields (DSF) fields now operate under simplified contracts with minimal compliance burdens, unlocking marginal fields across basins. These sweeping policy reforms show that we are ready to tweak and do more to make India's upstream sector as competitive as any in the world. Through PM Gati Shakti, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has digitally mapped over one lakh assets and pipelines. Integration with the National Master Plan ensures real-time project visibility and synergy across ministries. Key projects such as the Indo-Nepal pipeline and Samruddhi Utility Corridor have benefited from route optimisation and cost savings of over ₹169 crore. A consumer outlook Affordability remains central. Despite global LPG prices rising by 58%, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries pay ₹553 per cylinder, supported by targeted subsidies and compensation to oil companies. Fuel prices in India have been kept stable through excise cuts, insulating citizens from volatility seen in neighbouring countries. Eleven years into the Prime Minister's transformative leadership, India's energy sector is no longer defined by anxiety. It is now marked by confidence, self-reliance and strategic foresight. Energy is not just a commodity. It is a catalyst for sovereignty, security and sustainable development. Hardeep S. Puri is Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the Government of India
