Parliament Question: Domestic production of crude oil and natural gas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO - 255 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS *255. DR. V. SIVADASAN: Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state: (a) the total proven and probable reserves of crude oil and natural gas in the country, basin-wise, as on date; (b) the year-wise details of domestic crude oil and natural gas production during the last three years, along with the assessed production potential and the difference between potential and actual production, year-wise; and (c) the reasons for the gap between reserves, assessed potential and actual production, and the steps being taken to enhance domestic output and reduce import dependence? ANSWER MINISTER OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI) (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 255 FOR REPLY ON 16.03.2026 REGARDING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS ASKED BY DR. V. SIVADASAN. (a): As on 01.04.2025, the proven and probable (2P) reserves are 423 MMT for crude oil and 595 BCM for natural gas. The basin wise details of the reserves are as follows: Reserves Basin Oil (MMT) Total Gas (BCM) Assam Arakan 3.982 27.552 Assam Shelf 101.961 61.406 Bengal Onland 0.023 0 Bombay Offshore 161.392 221.919 Cambay 96.13 35.969 Cauvery 7.547 25.332 Krishna-Godavari 31.32 145.236 Kutch 0 0 Rajasthan 20.672 13.603 Vindhyan 0 0.291 Bengal-Purnia 0.067 4.982 Mahanadi 0 0 CBM 0 59.1 Total 423.094 595.39 MMT: Million Metric Tonnes, BCM: Billion Cubic Metres (b) Year-wise details of 2P Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR), 2P Reserve and Production of domestic crude oil and natural gas during the last three years is as under: OIL (MMT) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 As on 01.04.22 As on 01.04.23 As on 01.04.24 2P EUR 1893.3 1920.9 1933 Cumulative production 1443.3 1471.4 1498.7 2P Reserve 450 449.5 434.3 Production for the FY 29.18 29.36 28.7 GAS (BCM) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 As on 01.04.22 As on 01.04.23 As on 01.04.24 2P EUR 1787.1 1829.6 1856.1 Cumulative production 1132.2 1179.0 1212.7 2P Reserve 654.9 650.6 643.4 Production for the FY 34.45 36.44 36.11Reserve classification explanation is placed at Annexure-A-I. (c) Oil and gas reserves represent the total quantity of hydrocarbons that can be recovered over the remaining life of the fields, whereas annual production is only the amount that can be safely and efficiently produced in a particular year. Extraction cannot be carried out all at once because hydrocarbon reservoirs behave like natural pressure systems. If production is accelerated excessively, it will lead to rapid pressure decline, reduced recovery, and possible damage to the reservoir, ultimately lowering the total amount that can be recovered. Therefore, production rates are carefully managed based on standard reservoir engineering principles. Production is also impacted due to natural decline in mature and ageing oil and gas fields. Many of the country’s major producing fields, such as Mumbai High and fields in Assam, have been in production for several decades and have passed their plateau production phase. In addition, geological and operational challenges impact production levels. These include increasing water cut, which leads to higher water production and reduces oil and gas yield, sand ingress, and limited reservoir influx. Further, subsurface complexities sometimes restrict the effectiveness of workover operations, new drilling and infill wells, thereby affecting the overall contribution to production. It is important to note that acquisition of Geological data, promoting ease of doing business and incentivizing through innovative policies are the three main needs for the E&P sector. No transformative initiative was brought by the Government between 2006 and 2014 to resolve critical-outstanding issues plaguing the E&P sector. The lack of support for ease of doing business led to the exit of major E&P companies. Similarly, of the 148 blocks awarded under New Exploration Licensing Policy between FY 2005-06 to FY 2013-14, 61 blocks were relinquished. Upstream sector shared under recoveries burden of around Rs.2,55,140 crore during 2010-11 to 2014-15 on the sale of petroleum products by the OMCs, which impinged upon their capacity to take up major E&P work during this period. The policy response since 2014 has, however, been to reverse the non- supportive E&P ecosystem. Consequently, India’s E&P sector has benefitted from a series of reforms over the last decade. These reforms include legislative changes through the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, removal of No-Go restrictions in the country’s offshore areas,transition from Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) to Revenue Sharing Contracts (RSCs), massive investment in acquisition and processing of seismic data, increase in number of exploratory wells drilled etc. During the last decade over 3.5 lakh Sq Km of exploration acreages have been awarded. Government have taken various policy decisions and operational measures to boost domestic crude oil and natural gas production and reduce dependency on imports with the objective of strengthening the country’s energy security and reducing foreign exchange expenditure. A list of such initiatives is placed at Annexure-A-II. *****ANNEXURE-A-I IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 255 FOR REPLY ON 16.03.2026 REGARDING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS ASKED BY DR. V. SIVADASAN. 2P Estimated Ultimate Recovery (or 2P EUR): As per the Petroleum Resources Management system, “proved and probable reserve” is the best estimate of recoverable petroleum reserves, determined by geology and reservoir analysis. This total recoverable quantity of oil and gas (in terms of proved and probable estimates) is also known as “2P Estimated Ultimate Recovery (or 2P EUR)”, which is the maximum quantity of oil and gas that can be recovered from the reservoirs in an economical manner. Estimated ultimate recovery also gets updated from year to year due to re-evaluation and reserves accretion. 2P Reserve: Oil and gas are extracted from these reservoirs on daily basis. Further, if there are oil and gas discoveries during a year, then, after appraisal, the recoverable reserves from these discoveries also get added during the course of the year. The recoverable quantity remaining at the end of each financial year, considering extraction as well as reserves addition / accretion is known as balance recoverable reserve or 2P reserve. The balance recoverable reserve at the beginning of each year is the assessed hydrocarbon potential for that particular year. Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS) is probabilistic due to inherent uncertainties in subsurface seismic data and the reliance on variable economic and technical factors. *****ANNEXURE-A-II IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 255 FOR REPLY ON 16.03.2026 REGARDING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS ASKED BY DR. V. SIVADASAN. List of initiatives taken by the government to promote domestic Exploration and Production of Oil and Natural Gas: i. Policy for Relaxations, Extensions and Clarifications under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime, 2014 for early monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries. ii. Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, 2015, which provides a transparent mechanism to award discovered but undeveloped fields to expedite production. iii. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), 2016, providing a uniform licensing framework and revenue sharing regime for exploration and production of hydrocarbons. iv. Policy for Extension of PSCs (2016 and 2017) to facilitate continued production from producing blocks. v. Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed Methane (CBM), 2017, enabling marketing and pricing freedom and addressing operational issues in CBM blocks. vi. Policy to Promote/Incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods (EOR/IOR), 2018 to improve recovery from mature oil and gas fields. vii. Policy Framework for exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Hydrocarbons (2018) including CBM, shale oil and gas, and gas hydrates under existing contracts and nomination fields. viii. Release of about 1 million sq. km. of previously “No-Go” offshore areas in 2022, which were earlier restricted for exploration, enabling additional acreage to be offered for exploration under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP). ix. Accelerated exploration and drilling activities by National Oil Companies (ONGC and OIL) including near-field exploration and development drilling in onshore and offshore basins. x. Implementation of enhanced reservoir management techniques and advanced recovery technologies, including deployment of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) techniques in mature fields to augment production.xi. Offshore exploration initiatives including programmes such as “Samudra Manthan”, aimed at increasing drilling activity particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas. xii. Collaboration with international technology partners and global oil companies as technical service providers to leverage advanced exploration, drilling and reservoir management technologies. xiii. Enactment of the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025 and notification of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025, which modernize the upstream regulatory framework by providing a single petroleum lease for the entire lifecycle of hydrocarbon operations, broadening the definition of mineral oils to include conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, ensuring lease stability with extension up to the economic life of the field, and establishing clear procedures, timelines and standardized formats for approvals. The framework also provides for infrastructure sharing, lease extension, economic stabilization in case of change in law, robust adjudication and dispute resolution mechanisms, and enhanced compliance provisions. It further enables comprehensive energy projects including renewable energy, hydrogen, energy storage and carbon management within petroleum lease areas, along with environmental safeguards such as limiting gas flaring, thereby promoting efficient and sustainable development of hydrocarbon resources. *****