India's Hydrocarbon Outlook – 2022-2023

12 DGH: 3 DECADES OF UNLOCKING INDIA'S HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL Background India has been involved in oil exploration for over a century, making it one of the few countries with such a rich history in the industry. Initially, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. and Oil India Ltd dominated the exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas resources in India till 1970. Exploration was primarily limited to onshore and shallow offshore areas, until the discovery of the massive Mumbai High fields in 1974, which became the mainstay of India's indigenous production. In the seventies and eighties, the sector was opened to private companies to augment exploratory efforts, mainly in offshore areas. The process of offering exploration activities to private companies started in 1980, and several rounds of exploration bidding were announced. However, the results of the first three rounds of bidding in 1979, 1982, and 1986 were not encouraging. Subsequently, the government reviewed and revised the terms of the contract in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds of bidding. Between 1980 and 1995, 28 exploration blocks were awarded to private companies, including ONGC and OIL. The liberalized economic policy adopted by the Government of India in July 1991 deregulated the core sectors, including the petroleum sector, with partial disinvestments of government equity in Public Sector Undertakings. The upstream petroleum sector was largely a monopoly of public sector companies until 1991, and the sector was being increasingly opened to new operating companies in the private and joint sectors. The liberalization policy of 1991 opened the E&P sector further, with both domestic and foreign private companies allowed to explore sedimentary basins. Consequently, several exploration blocks and small & medium sized discovered fields were offered to Private DGH 30 Years Journey 1