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Hardeep Singh Puri
State-owned ONGC has signed an agreement with global energy giant BP to collaborate on drilling multiple stratigraphic wells in India. This partnership will enhance geological understanding and unlock untapped hydrocarbon potential, strengthening India's long-term energy security, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) said in a post on X. "#ONGC has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with @bp_plc on 17 July 2025, to collaborate on drilling stratigraphic wells in India's Category II & III offshore sedimentary basins: Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal," the oil major said. The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on the sidelines of Urja Varta 2025 event in the national capital. Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said this was one of the initiatives that "we have been talking about sometime ... called stratigraphic wells." This is the first of the series of such
India, the world's third-largest oil importer and fourth-biggest gas buyer, has enough energy supplies to meet requirements for several weeks and continues to receive supplies from several routes, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said amid escalating tensions in the globe's biggest energy supply regions. In a post on X, the minister said the government has been "closely monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East since the past two weeks." "Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji, we have diversified our supplies in the past few years and a large volume of our supplies do not come through the Strait of Hormuz now," he said. The Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is threatening to shut down following US strikes on its nuclear facilities, is an important transit for oil coming from the Middle East. About 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil out of India's total import of 5.5 million bpd transits through the narrow waterway. However, India has diversified ..
India, the world's third-largest oil importer and fourth biggest gas buyer, has enough energy supplies for the coming months, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said amid escalating tensions in the globe's biggest energy supply regions. In a post on X, the minister said he held a periodic review of energy availability scenario with the captains of the Indian oil industry. "India's energy strategy is shaped by successfully navigating the trilemma of energy availability, affordability and sustainability," he said. "We have adequate energy supplies for the coming months." Global oil prices have jumped to their highest level since January after Israel struck Iran, in a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The rate of the benchmark Brent crude was up by more than 10 per cent shortly after the news emerged, but eased a little. Brent was trading close to USD 75 a barrel, up more than 5 per cent over Thursday's close. India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil needs
Government owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) has commenced natural gas production from the Bakhri Tibba block, located in the desert belt near the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district. The commencement of natural gas production was announced by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri. Taking to social media platform 'X', the Union Minister hailed the milestone as a testament to the company's resilience and commitment. "This milestone is a shining example of Oil India Ltd's resilience, resolve and responsibility in delivering energy under challenging frontier conditions," Puri posted on Monday. He further said, "I commend the relentless efforts of the Oil India team, who brave extreme situations daily to ensure stable energy flow. Every hydrocarbon molecule produced brings us closer to energy security and self-reliance," he added. Oil India has begun production from the DSF-III (Discovered Small Field) block in Bakhri Tibba. The operation is situ
Oil and gas companies will not face any new taxes like the windfall profits tax after the coming into effect of a new law that promises stability of fiscal regime, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. Parliament has passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2024 that provides policy stability to investors, decriminalises provisions and promotes ease of doing business. "After this bill, it will be difficult to levy (new taxes like) windfall tax because somebody will sue us (for failing to keep the promise of fiscal stability)," he said at a reception he hosted to celebrate the passage of the bill. Investors looking to invest in finding and producing oil and gas want fiscal stability, and new taxes that seek to take away gains made when prices are high, without compensating for low or no margins when rates are low, are often a deterrent. India imposed a windfall profit tax on July 1, 2022 joining a growing number of nations that tax super normal profits of energy
India is looking at increasing its target to blend ethanol with petrol to more than 20 per cent and has formed a committee under the NITI Aayog for this, Petroleum Minister Hardeep S Puri said on Wednesday. Addressing the Advantage Assam 2.0 business summit in Guwahati, he said 19.6 per cent blending has already been achieved. "We will be looking at more than 20 per cent blending of biofuel. Already a NITI Aayog group has been set up and they are looking into it," he said. "We had set a target of 20 per cent blending by 2026, but already achieved 19.6 per cent. I am sure we will touch 20 per cent next month," he added. Puri said that the country has a capacity of 1,700 crore litre of blending, and already 1,500 crore litre are being utilised. With India spending USD 150 billion on different types of fuel imports, he said that one area where the attention is lacking is green hydrogen. "The green hydrogen price is presently USD 4.5. If you can bring it closer to USD 2.5, there will
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep S Puri said on Friday that de-dollarisation of oil purchases was never the objective, emphasising that "most transactions are in dollars and always have been". Instead, he clarified that the primary objective is to procure sufficient oil "at lower prices" to help control inflation. "De-dollarisation is not an objective at all. Most of these (oil) transactions are in dollars and always have been. We had one transaction in rupees, but I think it was a very small one. Transactions in rupees are a good thing, but it takes two to tango," Puri told PTI during a press conference. Exuding confidence that India has established contacts with the new US administration led by President Donald Trump, he said the Indo-American relationship on the energy front will deepen. According to the Union Minister, India is already purchasing energy worth up to USD 20 billion from the US, emphasising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently had a very ...