India is currently the third-largest consumer of both oil and LPG in the world, with up to 10.60 crore houses using reasonably priced LPG for cooking and 67 million daily visits to fuel stations, according to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. “From deepwater exploration to green hydrogen and bioenergy, Bharat is building a future that’s secure, sustainable and self-sufficient under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” the minister wrote in a post to X.
The minister also emphasized that the nation uses 5.5 million barrels of oil per day and is the fourth-largest LNG importer and refining hub in the world. The minister had previously stated that the changes implemented in the oil and gas industry are helping India’s energy sector grow despite the uncertainty in the world. “India is advancing changes even as the rest of the globe struggles with fuel volatility. According to the minister, the nation’s oil refining capacity has grown from 215 to 258 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), and Jamnagar is currently Asia’s largest refinery, exporting petroleum products to more than 100 nations.
“The open acreage licensing policy (OALP) Round 10 has unlocked 2.5 lakh sq km for further exploration and production,” the minister added, highlighting the reforms in the upstream oil and gas exploration and production business. To make doing business easier, the number of clearances needed for exploration has also been lowered from 37 to 18. According to him, the upstream sector has received over $1.3 billion in investments to boost oil production and exploration.
The minister has emphasized that the opening of roughly one million square kilometers of hitherto “No-Go” offshore areas in 2022 is contributing to a renewed boom in oil and gas exploration in India. 172 hydrocarbon finds, including 62 in offshore regions, have been reported by Indian exploration and production (E and P) firms since 2015. The Minister emphasized the AN basin’s geological significance, which is part of the Bengal-Arakan sedimentary system and sits where the Andaman and Nicobar Basins converge.
