The Indian state-owned oil and gas company ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) plans to invest INR31,000 crore (US$4bn) in exploring the Indian sedimentary basin for fuel reserves over the next three fiscal years (2022-2025). ONGC is aiming to probe around 1.7 Mt of oil and oil equivalent gas of yet-to-find reserves. This investment represents a 50% increase in exploration expenditures compared to the previous three fiscal years (2019-2021).
The company reported a gradual decline in output for over a decade. In FY 2021-2022, ONGC produced 19 Mt of crude oil (a 3.6% decrease compared to the previous year) and 22 bcm of natural gas. Nevertheless, ONGC remains India's largest oil and gas producer with about 63% of the country's total domestic oil production and 71% of its total domestic gas production (which reached 30 Mt for crude oil and 31 bcm for natural gas in FY 2021-2022). As of 2021, India's oil reserves are estimated at 4,530 mbl and its gas reserves at 1,372 bcm.
India imported 84% of its oil needs and 54% of its gas needs in 2020. After coal (44%), oil represented 24% of the country’s total consumption in 2020, against 6% for natural gas.