On April 15, Hardep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said “the Indian hydrocarbons sector is entering a new era or exploration and accelerated development.” He said while heading to the open surface license policy (OALP) Round-IX and a special ceremony with a discovered small field firm (DSF).
He stressed that through friendly reforms with investors, rapid approvals, scientific exploration and a strong emphasis on sustainability, India is constantly building an ecosystem of resistant energy and prepared for the aligned future. Yes, the Indian hydrocarbons space has seen a change in politics with changing times, but the results have not yet seen.
That India has not seen another great discovery is a matter of another debate. But there is a consistency in policy reforms, but execution is the point of pain.
Puri also pointed out that India currently depends on imports for 88 percent of its crude oil and 50 percent of its natural gas needs, and that the urgency for domestic exploration and production has never increased. The minister reiterated: “In the next two decades, 25 percent of the growth of the world’s incremental energy demand will come from India.”
Reflecting on the past, he said that the Indian upstream sector between 2006 and 2016, through a “boring decade” tarnished by political paralysis and delays in the procedure, which leads to the exit of world energy giants such as BG, ENI and Santos. “We were determined to unlock the without exploiting energy potential, estimated at approximately 42 billion tons of petroleum and gas equivalent to gas,” he added.
The minister’s trust derives from the reforms introduced by the Government: the Law of Petroleum Campos (Regulation and Development) amended, 1948 (Orda), which entered into force as of April 15. By qualifying it as a “historical reform,” he said that the practices of Itinsestestatatoradors are not carried out.
Looking for comments
In a movement towards inclusive governance and legal clarity, the minister also launched the draft of the PNG rules public consultation portal, encouraging the industry and public interested parties to share comments. These rules will help shape the income exchange contracts of the face model and rationalize sectoral regulations, he said.
Although rules are needed for the implementation of new laws and amendments, the rules for execution must also be clearly defined.
The draft of the rules portal is to facilitate the same for the orders of Orda.
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The draft of the rules stipulate the rules that will not ensure obstacles in the operation of mineral oil. It also clearly defines the terms for oil lease and explains in detail how migration problems remain the bone of the dispute between two key players Reliance Industries and ONCC.
The draft of the rules also talk about conditions under Wat a lease can be canceled and the extension of the rights under the existing contract, lease or license to carry out all mineral oil operations. It also talks about the central repository and data aggregation.
While many nuances have been collected from existing shared production contracts (PSC), there is nothing in the draft rules about the role of the General Directorate of Hydrocarbons. Does this “reduction” or Willything mean will be centralized under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, question critics?
They are also the drafts of rules that replace the contractual framework, since there are too many details and eliminates flexibility to administer contracts. Finally, these proposals in the rules draft provide an opportunity for the government to eliminate some of the open provisions, such as the terms of extension in leases in the same terms. It still leaves open for the government to negotiate changes. So is the government again has a traditional frame? Actually, no, because Draft rules proposals address some of the existing weak points, such as migration and data exchange.
Government initiatives
But the consistency of politics has been the distinctive seal. . The Minister of State of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, had informed Rajya Sabha on March 24 about the steps of Varouse that the government has bone to boost the national production of oil and gas, which includes:
(i) Policy under the PSC regime for early monetization of hydrocarbons discoveries, 2014.
(ii) Discovered Small Field Policy, 2015.
(iii) Hydrocarbons Exploration and License Policy (HELP), 2016.
(IV) Policy for the extension of PSCS, 2016 and 2017.
(V) Policy for early monetization of coal bed methane, 2017.
(VI) Configuration of the National Data Repository, 2017.
(VII) Evaluation of areas not approved in sedimentary basins under the National Seismic Program, 2017.
(VIII) Policy frame for the extension of PSC for discovered fields and exploration blocks under the previous exploration license policy (Pre-FAST), 2016 and 2017.
(IX) Policy to promote and encourage improved recovery methods for oil and gas, 2018.
(X) Policies frame for exploration and exploitation hydrocarbons Low Existing Production Contracts (PSC), Coal bed methane contracts (CBM) and nomination fields, 2018.
(XI) Natural Gas Marketing Reforms, 2020.
(XII) lower royalty rates, zero participation in income (until unexpected gain) and without drilling in phase I in the oalp blocks under category II and III basins to attract bidders.
(XIII) Liberation or approximately 1 million sq. km. (SKM) Area ‘NO-GO’ on the coast that were blocked to explore for decades.
(XIV) The Government is also spending around ₹ 7.5 billion rupees for the acquisition of seismic data in areas in land and high seas and drilling or stratigraphic wells to make GAP available to GAP.
Clearly, the policy structure has been refined, but the problem lies again in execution, which is an inherited problem. The challenge for Puri and his team will be to guarantee an implementation without reform problems.
Posted on April 21, 2025