Parliament Question: Carbon emissions from the petroleum sector

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-307 ANSWERED ON - 02/02/2026 CARBON EMISSIONS FROM THE PETROLEUM SECTOR

307. SHRI CHANDRAKANT DAMODAR HANDORE:

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a) the current level of carbon emissions generated from the petroleum refining sector;

(b) whether Government has issued guidelines to reduce emissions from refineries; and

(c) the progress made by oil companies in transitioning to low-emission technologies? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

(a) & (b): As per Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power baseline assessment for the petroleum refineries conducted under Carbon Credit and Trading Scheme (CCTS) for the Financial Year (FY): 2023-24, total GHG emission, primarily comprising of CO2 emission of 21 operational refineries, was estimated around 79 Million tCO2eq.

The Government has issued multiple policy guidelines and regulatory frameworks aimed at reducing emissions from refineries. Under environmental norms prescribed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), refineries are required to comply with emission standards, and pollution control measures. In addition, the Government promotes emission reduction through market-based mechanisms such as the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, renewable consumption obligations (RCO), and adoption of cleaner fuels and processes.

The Central Government has also notified the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023 on 28th June 2023. The scheme facilitates monetisation of GHG emission reductions through the trading of carbon credit certificates.

(c): In alignment with India’s Net Zero carbon emission commitment by 2070, Oil and Gas PSUs have set ambitious targets of achieving Net Zero in their scope-1 and scope-2 emissions, primarily from refineries, while ensuring a secure, reliable and affordable supply of energy. To achieve this, oil PSUs have adopted multiple pathways focusing on energy efficiency, reduction of methane emissions, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) measures, investing in renewable energy and support for research and development. Additionally, the companies are also transitioning towards cleaner fuels such as ethanol blended petrol under the EBP Programme, promotion of compressed biogas (CBG) under the umbrella initiative of Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) etc.

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