Page 42 - Policy Economic Report - October 2025

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

Key Policy developments/Significant news in Energy sector

India opens 99% of offshore area for oil and gas exploration, expands crude import sources: Puri

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said that the government has
expanded India’s crude import basket from 27 to over 40 countries and opened up 99% of the nation’s
offshore area for oil and gas exploration.

The move, the minister said, is part of a four-pronged strategy aimed at building “a future where energy
is secure, affordable, and sustainable.” He outlined four key pillars of India’s energy journey —
diversification of crude imports, innovation, expansion of domestic oil and gas exploration, and a clean
energy transition.

The latter, he noted, is reflected in the Green Hydrogen Mission and the 10.60 crore Ujjwala beneficiary
families who have gained access to subsidised LPG as clean cooking fuel, replacing firewood and dung
cakes. Taking to the social media platform X, Minister Puri wrote, “Under Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s leadership, Bharat is building a cleaner, stronger, and self-sufficient energy future.”

Puri also recalled that India’s diversification of crude sourcing has played a crucial role in stabilising
global prices. “India’s oil purchases from Moscow played an important role in preventing a sharp spike in
global prices,” he said, adding that crude oil prices could have soared to $130 per barrel without the
India-Russia oil trade during the onset of the Ukraine war in 2022.

Before the war, India imported only 0.2% of its crude oil requirements from Russia, a figure that now
stands at close to 40%.

India to Emerge as Global Refining and Energy Hub: Shri Hardeep Singh Puri at Energy Technology
Meet

India’s petroleum and energy sector is undergoing a transformative expansion, poised to play a defining
role in shaping the global energy future, said Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural
Gas, while addressing the inaugural session of the Energy Technology Meet. He stated that India’s
energy journey reflects remarkable progress driven by visionary policy frameworks, rapid innovation,
and sustained investment across refining, biofuels, and green energy segments.

The Minister noted that while the global energy market is expected to grow at a slow pace—with several
refineries worldwide facing closure—India stands out as a bright spot, projected to contribute nearly
30–33% of global energy demand growth in the coming decades. He pointed out that India’s refining
capacity currently stands at about 258 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and is on track to
reach around 310 MMTPA by 2030, with long-term plans to scale further to 400–450 MMTPA. This
expansion, he said, will consolidate India’s position among the top three refining hubs globally as around
20% of existing global refining capacity—over 100 refineries—faces potential closure by 2035.

Highlighting India’s achievements in biofuel blending, Shri Puri said that the country had advanced from
a 5% target in 2006 to achieving 10% ethanol blending five months ahead of schedule in 2022. Building

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