Foreign investment dwindles as India struggles to boost oil production

India's high demand for oil and low domestic output are increasing the dependence on imports. The 'supportive' upstream policy, if backed by lower taxes, could turn things around

A supercharged economy, growing at 8 per cent, is fuelling India’s thirst for more oil, but domestic production has been declining. That leaves a $200 billion fuel import market open for suppliers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, and global traders Vitol, BP, and Trafigura.

Industry officials say there just isn’t enough on the table for state-run behemoth ONGC or private companies to make large investments in field development. Foreign oil companies, which possess advanced drilling technologies, prefer to drill in countries such as Guyana and Brazil, which offer high prospectivity.
 

During the last decade, India’s dependence on foreign oil