India is looking to strengthen its domestic oil and gas exploration and supply with the biggest-ever acreage up for grabs under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) Round X.

“The focus is clearly on further enhancing and strengthening domestic E&P efforts,” Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, posted on X while visiting an offshore industry event in Bergen, Norway.

“India’s energy journey offers engagement opportunities with Indian companies across multiple areas, including joint participation in the upcoming OALP-X bidding round, collaboration on subsea manifold and offshore technology development, apart from deploying AI-driven solutions for digital transformation in upstream operations,” the Indian minister added.

This week, India’s Petroleum Ministry invited feedback and suggestions on the Draft Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, the Model Revenue Sharing Contract (MRSC), and the Petroleum Lease legislation until July 17, 2025.

India is looking to boost its domestic oil and gas production amid constantly rising demand and volatile international energy prices.

The country depends on imports for more than 85% of its daily oil consumption.

India’s dependence on crude oil imports set a record high in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, as Indian fuel demand continues to grow while domestic crude production remains flat.

India imported 88.2% of the crude it consumed in the April 2024-February 2025 period. The import dependence increased from 87.7% in the same period of the 2023/2024 fiscal year.

India last year surpassed China as the world’s largest oil demand driver, amid growing demand for fuel transportation in India and slowing gasoline and diesel demand in China due to the advance of electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks in the world’s top crude oil importer.

However, India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, remains vulnerable to oil price shocks as its need for imported crude continues to grow and dependence on imports is rising, too.

Source: Oil Price.Com

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