Oil & Gas

According to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Policy (DPIIT), FDI inflows in India's petroleum and natural gas sector stood at US$ 7.98 billion between April 2000-December 2021.

Following are some of the major investments and developments in the oil and gas sector:

• In January 2022, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOCL) announced plans to expand its city gas distribution (CGD) business, looking to invest Rs. 7,000 crore (US$ 918.6 million).
• In January 2022, Adani Total Gas Ltd (ATGL), a joint venture between the Adani Group and TotalEnergies, won licenses to expand its City Gas Distribution (CGD) network to 14 new geographical areas with an investment of Rs. 20,000 crore (US$ 2.62 billion).
• In November 2021, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) announced that it invested up to Rs. 6,000 crore (US$ 800 million) in the petrochemicals arm—ONGC Petro Additions Ltd. (OPaL)—to meet its equity requirements.
• In November 2021, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have announced the launch of Model Retail Outlet Scheme and a Digital Customer Feedback Programme called Darpan@petrolpump. These three oil PSUs have joined hands to launch model retail outlets to enhance service standards and amenities across their networks, which serve over 6 crore consumers every day.
• In September 2021, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) signed a memorandum of understanding with South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to build a waste to energy plant in Delhi to fuel vehicles.
• In September 2021, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) announced its plan to invest over Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 13.66 billion), over a period of five years, to enhance petrochemical capacity and improve refining efficiency, gas proliferation, upstream oil & gas exploration and production and augment the (fuel) marketing infrastructure
• In August 2021, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) announced an investment of Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 13.12 billion) to raise its refining capacity by almost a third over the next 4-5 years.
• India aims to commercialise 50% of its SPR (strategic petroleum reserves) to raise funds and build additional storage tanks to offset high oil prices.
• In July 2021, Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL) announced plans to invest Rs. 15,000 crore (US$ 1.96 billion) for shale gas core well exploration in West Bengal.
• In July 2021, IndianOil Petronas Pvt. Ltd. announced its plan to establish a new brand for auto fuels retailing in India to further expand its business operations in the country.
• In July 2021, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) announced to establish India's first green hydrogen plant at Mathura refinery to introduce green hydrogen activities and projects in the oil and gas sector in the country.
• In July 2021, ONGC announced that it will spend Rs. 300 billion (US$ 4.03 billion) in FY22 to boost its oil & gas output.
• To expand beyond the natural gas business, in July 2021, GAIL (India) Ltd. announced investment of Rs. 5,000 crore (US$ 670.18 million) to establish a portfolio of renewable energy targeting a capacity of at least 1 gigawatts and build plants for both compressed biogas and ethanol.
• In July 2021, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) announced plan to establish its first-generation ethanol production plant in Telangana at an estimated investment of Rs. 1,000 crore (US$ 134.04 million).
• In July 2021, ONGC, an upstream oil company, and NTPC announced plans to expand the offshore wind energy development in India and accelerate presence in the renewable energy space.
• In February 2021, Petronet LNG announced its plans to increase its Dahej terminal's capacity by 29% to 22.5 MMTPA to meet the rising demand.
• In February 2021, IndianOil Corp. Ltd. signed a 'statement of intent' with Greenstat Hydrogen India Pvt. Ltd. to establish a centre of excellence for Hydrogen value chain and other related technologies such as hydrogen storage, fuel cells, etc.

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote oil and gas sector are:

• In the Union Budget 2022-23, the customs duty on certain critical chemicals such as methanol, acetic acid and heavy feed stocks for petroleum refining were reduced.
• In February 2022, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, said that India will more than double its exploration area of oil and gas to 0.5 million sq. km. by 2025 and to 1 million sq. km. by 2030 with a view to increase domestic output.
• In November 2021, India announced that it will release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserves in a concerted effort to bring down global crude oil prices. This is roughly equivalent to a day's consumption in the country.
• In November 2021, the government set up a committee to work out measures needed to make natural gas available to power plants at reasonably stable prices.
• In October 2021, the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas approved a revised project cost of Rs. 28,026 crore (US$ 3.8 billion) to increase refining capacity–for the ongoing Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project–from 3 to 9 MMTPA.
• In September 2021, the Indian government approved oil and gas projects worth Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 13.46 billion) in Northeast India. These projects are expected to be completed by 2025.
• In September 2021, India and the US agreed to expand their energy collaboration by focusing on emerging fuels. This was followed by a ministerial conference of the US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).
• In July 2021, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) approved an order allowing 100% foreign direct investments (FDIs) under automatic route for oil and gas PSUs.
• In July 2021, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated India's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility plant in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• In July 2021, India diversified procurement for crude by announcing its first shipment from Guyana. This move also indicates a future roadmap for extended alliance with Guyana in the oil & gas sector.
• In June 2021, the government announced that it will auction unmonetised large oil and gas fields of state-owned ONGC and OIL to boost hydrocarbon production.
• In February 2021, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi announced that the Government of India plans to invest Rs. 7.5 trillion (US$ 102.49 billion) on oil and gas infrastructure in the next five years.
• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas released a draft LNG policy that aims to increase the country's LNG re-gasification capacity from 42.5 MTPA to 70 MTPA by 2030 and 100 MTPA by 2040.
• In February 2021, the government launched key oil & gas projects in Assam, such as INDMAX Unit at Indian Oil's Bongaigaon Refinery, Oil India Limited's secondary tank farm at Madhuban, Dibrugarh and a 'Gas Compressor Station' at Hebeda Village, Makum.
• In February 2021, the government launched key oil and gas projects such as the Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline and Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Manali.
• The Government is planning to set up around 5,000 compressed biogas (CBG) plants by 2023.