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14 INDIA'S HYDROCARBON OUTLOOK 2024-2025

India’s Oil & Gas Production Sources

The contract areas
Nomination Blocks/ The discovered fields (CAs) Awarded under
Fields under ONGC and producing Pre- DSF, RSC (HELP), CBM
and OIL NELP(Exploration), Pre-NELP
(Discovered), NELP blocks Regime (Revenue sharing
under the Production Sharing contracts)
Contract (PSC) regime

1.11 Sustained Government Initiatives in Amendment Act, 2025 marks a pivotal reform
Exploration in India’s upstream legislative framework,
aimed at fostering transparency, stability, and
In recent years, the Government of India has investor confidence. Key provisions include the
undertaken a series of transformative initiatives transition to a uniform petroleum lease model,
to boost hydrocarbon exploration across both establishment of a centralized regulatory
conventional and frontier basins. Strategic authority, and introduction of a structured
campaigns such as the National Seismic dispute adjudication mechanism. The Act
Programme (NSP) have enabled extensive 2D also decriminalizes certain procedural lapses
seismic data acquisition in underexplored basins, by replacing them with monetary penalties,
laying the ground work for more informed thereby reducing compliance burden and
bidding and exploration. Complementing improving the ease of doing business. With a
this, Mission Anveshan was launched as an in- strong emphasis on environmental protection,
fill seismic campaign to sharpen subsurface safety, and the adoption of globally recognized
imaging and fill critical data gaps. A major game- petroleum industry practices, the amended
changer has been the opening up of previously Act brings much-needed legal stability and
restricted No-Go offshore areas, unlocking nearly operational predictability. It is poised to serve as a
99% of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for cornerstone for India’s next phase of exploration
E&P activities. To support data-driven exploration, and production growth.
the National Data Repository (NDR) has been
a key enabler by providing centralized access 1.13 Looking Ahead: Unlocking India’s
to India’s geoscientific data. The upcoming Hidden Reserves
launch of NDR 2.0, with improved interface and
analytical capabilities, is set to further empower With vast sedimentary basin potential, India
operators and investors. Together, these efforts is strategically reassessing resource estimates
reflect a coherent national strategy to unlock the across deepwater and frontier regions. DGH,
full potential of India’s sedimentary basins and supported by global partnerships, is driving data
attract sustained investment in exploration. acquisition and structural mapping. Enabled
by transparent licensing, digital platforms,
1.12 Regulatory Reform for a Stable and a future-ready regulatory model, India’s
Future: The ORDA Amendment, 2025 upstream sector is poised for a quantum leap in
hydrocarbon discovery and production.
The Oilfields (Regulation and Development)