ONGC, Oil India, RIL gain upto 2% as Oilfields bill passed in Lok Sabha

Upstream oil companies-- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Oil India and Reliance Industries (RIL)-- shares edged higher in trade on Thursday, March 13, 2025, up to 2.5 per cent. These companies are those involved in the exploration and production (E&P) of crude oil and natural gas. 

 

The buying on the counter can be attributed to the government passing Oilfield Amendment Bill, 2024. 

 

Around 9:56 AM, ONGC shares were up 1.8 per cent, Oil India stock was up 1.7 per cent and RIL shares were up 0.53 per cent. In comparison, BSE Sensex was up 0.13 per cent at 74,125.6. While ONGC topped the Nifty50 gainers list, RIL made its place in the major winners on Sensex.

 

 

The bill aims at delinking petroleum operations from mining, clarifying the granting and extension of petroleum leases, and creating a new dispute resolution mechanism for the exploration and production sector. 

 

According to Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, the provisions will improve the “Ease of doing business”, make India an attractive destination for the production of oil and gas, and play an instrumental role in unlocking the hydrocarbon potential of our resource-rich nation.

 

“By virtue of the fact that we are going to rely on conventional energy for some time, we need to step up our exploration and production activities. Today’s successful passage of the bill will be a constructive and positive step in this direction,” Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. The bill also does not alter the existing level playing field and offers no preference to either the private or the public sector, the minister said.  ALSO READ: Bharat Electronics share pops 2% on bagging deal worth Rs 2,463-cr from IAF

 

Passed in the upper house back in December, the amendment bill will replace existing laws dating from 1948, which were last amended in 1969, and brings in the concept of a ‘petroleum lease’, to be legally separate from a mining lease.

 

Further, the bill seeks more ease in exploration by incorporating a larger set of hydrocarbons in the new bill. Case in point, it introduces the term ‘mineral oils’ in place of ‘oils’, and brings a wide range of mineral oils under its ambit.

 

In accordance with the disputes arising out of petroleum leases or any authorisation granted by the central government for the working of an oilfield, the bill proposes that the government can bring in "alternative dispute resolution methods under any law for the time being in force, in a place within India or outside India".