Lok Sabha Question No. 2160 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-12
Subject: Reduction in Import Dependence on Petroleum and Natural Gas
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Shri Darshan Singh Choudhary

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 2160

TO BE ANSWERED ON -12 th  FEBRUARY, 2026

## REDUCTION IN IMPORT DEPENDENCE ON PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

† 2160 . SHRI. DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY:

## पेट Ō ोिलयम और Ůाक ृ ितक गैस मंũी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state: -

- a) whether the Government has adopted a long-term strategy to reduce dependence on import of petroleum  and  natural  gas  with  the  objective  of  strengthening  the  country's  energy  security  and reducing foreign exchange expenditure;
- b) if so, the details of the percentage of import dependency during the last five years, in respect of crude oil and natural gas and the steps taken to increase domestic production in order to reduce such dependence; and
- c) whether  any  specific  action  plan  has  been  implemented  or  proposed  by  the  Government  to reduce  import  dependence  by  promoting  domestic  Exploration  and  Production,  Open  Acreage Licensing Policy, alternative fuels such as Biofuels, Hydrogen and Compressed Biogas and energy efficiency and electric mobility, if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

## पेट Ō ोिलयम और Ůाक ृ ितक गैस मंũालय मŐ राǛमंũी ( ŵी सुरे श गोपी )

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

- (a) Government  have  taken  various  policy  decisions  and  steps  to  boost  domestic  crude  oil  and natural  gas  production  and  reduce  dependency  on  import  of  oil  and  gas  with  the  objective  of strengthening the country's energy security and reducing foreign exchange expenditure which, inter alia, include:
- i. Policy under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime for early monetization of Hydrocarbon discoveries, 2014;
- ii. Discovered Small Field Policy, 2015;
- iii. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), 2016
- iv. Policy for Extension of PSCs, 2016 and 2017;
- v. Policy for early monetization of Coal Bed Methane, 2017;
- vi. Setting up of National Data Repository, 2017;
- vii. Approval  of  Un-appraised  areas  in  Sedimentary  Basins  under  National  Seismic  Programme, 2017;
- viii. Policy frameworks for extension of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for Discovered Fields and  Exploration  Blocks  under  Pre-New  Exploration  Licensing  Policy  (Pre-NELP)  2016  & 2017;
- ix. Policy to Promote/Incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods of Oil/Gas 2018;
- x. Policy  Framework  for  exploration  and  exploitation  of  Unconventional  Hydrocarbons  under Existing  Production  Sharing  Contracts  (PSCs),  Coal  Bed  Methane  (CBM)  Contracts  and Nomination Fields, 2018;
- xi. Natural Gas Marketing Reforms, 2020;
- xii. Lower Royalty Rates, Zero Revenue Share (till Windfall Gains) and no drilling commitment in Phase-I in OALP Blocks under Category II and III basins to attract bidders;
- xiii. Release  of  about  1  Million  Sq.  Km.  (SKM)  'No-Go'  areas  in  offshore  which  were  earlier blocked for exploration for decades;
- xiv. Amendments  to  the  Oilfields  (Regulation  and  Development)  Act,  1948  to  promote  ease  of doing business, contractual stability, operational efficiency and faster dispute resolution

(b) & (c) Import dependency during the last five years range between 85.5% - 88.6% in crude oil and in natural gas between 44% - 50%. Government has implemented various initiatives to reduce import  dependence  by  promoting  domestic  Exploration  and  Production,  alternative  fuels  such  as biofuels,  green  hydrogen,  compressed  biogas,  liquefied  natural  gas  (LNG),  energy  efficiency  and electric  mobility,  which  inter-alia  include  achieving  20%  ethanol  blending  under  the  Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP), and broadening the scope of feedstock to enhance the availability of ethanol. Government have launched Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) in 2016. Under this policy, Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) was started. During the last three years, 38 exploration blocks under OALP bid Round VIII and IX covering 1,72,912.95 Square Kilometer in the  country  have  been  awarded.  The  Pradhan  Mantri  Jaiv  Indhan-Vatavaran  Anukool  Fasal Awashesh  Nivaran  (PM  JI-VAN)  Yojana  has  been  launched  to  provide  financial  assistance  for setting  up  projects  for  advanced  biofuels,  including  Sustainable  Aviation  Fuel  (SAF).  For  the promotion of Compressed Biogas (CBG), the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme has been launched, and schemes like BAM (Biomass Aggregation Machinery)  and  DPI  (Direct  Pipeline  Infrastructure)  have  been  introduced  to  support  biomass aggregation and to connect CBG plants to the existing pipeline network. National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) has been launched with the objective of production of 5 MMTPA green hydrogen by 2030. Government have also taken various steps to augment the availability of LNG for various sectors which, inter-alia, includes establishment of LNG infrastructure including LNG terminals and LNG  stations.  Refineries  are  included  in  PAT  (Perform,  Achieve  and  Trade)  energy  efficiency improvement scheme of Government. Ministry of Heavy industries have sanctioned Rs. 873.5 Cr to PSU Oil Marketing companies (OMCs) under FAME II Subsidy scheme for setting up 8,932 Electric Vehicle Charging stations (EVCS), in addition 18,706 EVCS have been setup by OMCs at their ROs from their own funds. In all 27,638 numbers of EVCS have been set up across the country; out of which 20,886 EVCS have been energized.

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