‘One of my laments’: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says India’s gas share stuck at 6-7%, short of 15% target

India’s push to become a gas-based economy remains slower than expected. Speaking at the CII Annual General Meeting, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, expressed dissatisfaction with India’s slow transition, calling it “one of my laments” that despite ambitious targets, the country’s current gas share in the energy mix still lingers at just about 6-7%.

“I still think we are progressing, though at a rate which could be higher,” he added.

India currently imports over 85% of its crude oil needs and around 50–55% of its natural gas. Despite various initiatives, domestic crude output has fallen from 36 million tonnes a decade ago to around 30 million tonnes today.

Yet, the government is not backing down. Over the past few years, it has introduced reforms like the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), which replaced the older NELP framework, and the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) to make bidding and exploration more investor-friendly. “The ecosystem is being constantly revised,” Puri said, adding that the shift from production sharing to revenue sharing agreements in 2016 was a critical move to reduce disputes and litigation with oil majors.

Companies like ONGC have made significant investments—marking the highest number of wells dug in the last 37 years. Puri pointed out that while an onshore well costs about $4 million to drill, an offshore well can cost around $100 million. He cited Guyana’s recent success after drilling 47 offshore wells as a benchmark, expressing confidence that similar potential lies in India’s Andaman Sea. “There are many Guyanas waiting to be found,” he said. 

India’s energy sector sees around 6.7 crore retail visits daily for petrol, diesel, and CNG—reflecting the country’s massive demand. According to the International Energy Agency, India will account for 25% of the global increase in energy demand over the next two decades. “I am not surprised that this sector produces 20% of the country's overall revenue,” Puri said.

Betting on green hydrogen 

But the crux of India’s energy transition lies not just in oil and gas, but in clean energy. Green hydrogen, in particular, is drawing significant attention.

“When I became minister, one of my first conversations was with the then Energy Secretary of the United States, who said their target was one kilo of green hydrogen for one dollar in 10 years,” Puri said. At that time, the cost in India was around $5–5.5 per kg. Now, with the latest tender for 10,000 metric tonnes, prices have fallen below $4 per kg.

This progress is being enabled by access to clean, affordable solar energy, the expansion of pump storage capacity, and advances in electrolyser technology. “If you can scale this up, and you have an abundance of reasonably priced clean energy available, green hydrogen becomes viable,” Puri said. He added that some of the 15 green hydrogen buses operated by IOCL have already started plying in Delhi and others will begin once they receive their 80-kilometre range clearances.

Yet, he tempered expectations: “Even our green hydrogen trajectory is a few years away. And when I say a few years, I mean five to seven years.” Creating sufficient demand remains a challenge, particularly in sectors like refining and fertilisers. “Production is the easier part. The real task is demand creation,” he said.

India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, backed by ₹19,744 crore in incentives, aims to build 5 MMT of annual production capacity by 2030. But the transition requires broader systemic alignment—including manufacturing electrolysers at scale, ensuring clean energy access, and blending mandates across industrial sectors.

The government has also made headway in other cleaner fuels. Biofuel blending has risen from 1.4% to 20%, achieving the 2026 target ahead of schedule. While some in the automobile sector are sceptical about blending beyond 20%, Puri insisted that the path ahead would see further push towards flex-fuel vehicles, compressed biogas, and other alternatives.

Despite these gains, India spent around $139 billion on fuel imports last year, up from previous years due to rising consumption. Crude oil imports have grown from 5 million barrels per day four years ago to 5.6 million barrels today. “Energy is a decisive indicator of how well your economy is doing. If consumption is rising, the economy is growing,” he said.

Puri also reflected on the lost decade between 2006 and 2016 when exploration slowed down due to policy and contractual issues. “Everything came to a grinding halt,” he said.

Since 2016, the government has reopened 1 million square kilometres of previously restricted sedimentary basins, with the 9th round of OALP seeing 37–38% of bids coming from these areas. The 10th round is expected to see a similar trend.

While the path from fossil fuels to green energy remains complex and capital-intensive, the government is betting on scale, technology, and policy reforms to close the gap. “Believe me, if green hydrogen actually takes off, and we have a very good biofuel blending programme, and then you have flex fuel vehicles, you have CNG, etc., it will be a totally new ecological boost that the energy sector will receive,” Puri said.