SRINAGAR: India continues to rely heavily on imported crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), with import dependence ranging between 85 and 88 per cent for crude oil and about 48 to 50 per cent for LNG during the last five years, the Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
In a written reply to separate unstarred questions in the Upper House, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said the country’s domestic hydrocarbon reserves remain limited despite sustained exploration efforts.
According to official estimates under the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS), India’s Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR) stands at 1,948.1 million metric tonnes (MMT) for crude oil and 1,844.3 billion cubic metres (BCM) for natural gas as of April 1, 2025. The proven balance recoverable reserves are 423.1 MMT of crude oil and 595.4 BCM of natural gas.
The government also said crude oil import dependence has remained high in recent years, reaching 88.2 per cent in FY 2024–25 and 88.6 per cent in FY 2025–26 (till January 2026). The rise has been attributed partly to the natural decline in production from mature domestic oil fields.
To reduce import dependence and strengthen energy security, the government has introduced a series of policy measures aimed at boosting domestic exploration and production. These include the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), the Discovered Small Fields Policy, and incentives for Enhanced Recovery and Improved Recovery methods to increase output from ageing fields.
The government has also opened up previously restricted offshore areas for exploration. About one million square kilometres of offshore “No-Go” areas, which were blocked for decades, were released for exploration in 2022.
Officials said exploration activity has expanded significantly over the past decade. More than 75 per cent of the currently active exploration acreage has been awarded in the last ten years through bidding rounds under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP), Coal Bed Methane blocks and Discovered Small Fields. Since 2015, 172 exploration blocks have been awarded and over 6,000 wells drilled.
Foreign investment has also been encouraged, with 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) permitted through the automatic route in upstream oil and gas exploration.
On refining capacity, the government said India’s capacity has increased from 248.4 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) to 258.1 MMTPA in the last five years. However, major refinery projects often face delays due to statutory clearances, land acquisition issues, technical feasibility studies and contractual challenges.
To guard against supply disruptions caused by geopolitical conflicts, India has developed Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) through Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited, with a storage capacity of 5.33 MMT, equivalent to about 9.5 days of crude oil requirement. Oil marketing companies maintain additional stocks sufficient for 64.5 days, taking the country’s total crude oil and petroleum product storage capacity to around 74 days.
The government has also approved the creation of two additional strategic reserve facilities at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka with a combined capacity of 6.5 MMT, which is expected to increase the reserve cover by about 12 days of imports.
Officials said India is also diversifying its crude import sources, bypassing conflict zones where possible and strengthening engagement with global energy organisations such as the International Energy Agency, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the International Energy Forum to ensure stable energy supply chains.
