India steps up oil and gas exploration, awards 28 new blocks

India is pursuing energy security with domestic oil and gas production by increasing the explored area of India’s sedimentary basins from 6% to 10% in the last ten years, with a target of reaching 15%  in the coming years.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), on Tuesday, signed contracts for 28 blocks with winners from the 9th Open Acreage and Licensing Policy (OALP) bid round (OALP-9) and two blocks offered as part of a special Discovered Small Field (DSF). In the next round, OALP-X, MoPNG will award 25 blocks across 13 sedimentary basins—covering the largest-ever acreage of 1.92 lakh square kilometres, with 51% falling in previously restricted zones.

Further, the Oil and Gas Ministry on Tuesday launched DSF Round-IV, comprising 55 discoveries across nine contract areas with estimated reserves of 258.59 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE). Under previous DSF Bid Rounds (I, II, and III), the  Ministry had signed 85 Revenue Sharing Contracts covering 175 fields.

"76% of the total area currently under exploration has been brought under active exploration only since 2014. Under OALP Round-IX alone, 28 blocks across eight sedimentary basins have been awarded, covering 1.36 lakh square kilometres—38% of which fall in areas previously designated as “No-Go.” Additionally, two blocks were awarded under the Special DSF Round, with a total of 60 bids received," said Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

India is committed to increasing exploration acreage to one million sq. km by 2030, and has made policy decisions to get 99% reduction in allowing exploration in “No-Go” areas within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)', he added.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and partners won 15 blocks in the ninth round of the national oil and gas asset auctions. ONGC alone got 11 blocks. A consortium of ONGC (40%), Reliance Industries (RIL) (30%) and bp (30%) won the GS-OSHP-2022/2 block in the Saurashtra basin. While ONGC won 11 blocks, ONGC and its partners won four blocks.

Private sector exploration and production company Cairn, which had bid for all 28 blocks on offer, won seven blocks. Cairn Oil & Gas, part of Vedanta Group and India’s largest private oil and gas producer, was awarded new blocks comprising of 4 onshore and 3 shallow water blocks located in the hydrocarbon basins of Cambay, Saurashtra, and Mumbai. Cairn now has 69 blocks covering over 73,000 sq. km. area across the country.

Puri said scientific, data-driven exploration has been a cornerstone of the transformative exploration strategy, backed by a ₹7,500 crore investment into new seismic data acquisition, aerial surveys in remote terrains, and stratigraphic wells. Importantly, geo-scientific data is now available for major basins on both coasts, with the National Data Repository being upgraded to a cloud-based platform to ensure faster, transparent access to seismic, production, and well data.

India’s Coal Bed Methane (CBM) assets, currently estimated at 2,600 BCM, has 15 active CBM blocks and five already under production. The Government is preparing to launch a Special CBM 2025 Round to offer three new blocks (two in West Bengal and one in Gujarat).

The Minister announced that the amended Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948 (ORDA), which modernises India’s upstream regulatory framework and aligns it with international best practices, will come into effect in April 15, 2025.