India's E&P sector offers $100bn investment opportunities: minister

Indian exploration and production (E&P) sector offers investment opportunities worth $100bn by 2030, said Hardeep Singh Puri, the country’s minister of petroleum & natural gas, on July 11 during an event in New Delhi. He highlighted the potential of India’s 26 sedimentary basins, containing substantial reserves of crude oil and natural gas yet to be fully tapped.

“Only 10% of our sedimentary basin area is under exploration today. After the award of blocks under the forthcoming Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds, it will increase to 16% by the end of 2024,” he said.

The minister talked about the accelerated pace of exploration activities through initiatives like the OALP and the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy. “Through the first eight OALP bid rounds, a total of 144 blocks covering approximately 244,007 km² have been awarded, and the recently announced OALP IX round offers an area of approximately 136,596 km² spread over eight sedimentary basins, with the vision of expanding the nation's footprint in offshore exploration,” he noted.

The DSF policy, since its inception in 2015, has garnered investments of approximately $2bn and brought in 29 new players in the field, Puri said.

The minister announced the formation of a joint working group comprising representatives from private E&P operators, the national oil companies, the ministry of petroleum & natural gas, and the upstream regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to address industry concerns and improve the ease of doing business in the sector.

India is heavily dependent on imported oil and gas to meet domestic energy needs. The country imports more than 80% of its oil consumption, and half of its gas demand is met through imported LNG. The government aims to boost domestic oil and gas production, which will not only enhance energy security but also help India save foreign exchange.