Lok Sabha Question No. 2040 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-11
Subject: Modernisation of Upstream Operations under HELP
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2040 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 th  December, 2025

## Modernisation of Upstream Operations under HELP

2040.  Dr. Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy:

## पेट Ō ोिलयम और Ůाक ृ ितक गैस मंũी

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

(a) the draft of Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025 notified in July to modernise upstream operations under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP);

(b) the measures to streamline investor approvals amid a 3.1 per cent year-on-year decline in domestic  crude  oil  production  to  595  BBL/D/1K  in  July,  2025  coupled  with  the  eleven percent  increase  provided  in  the  Union  Budget  2025-26  to  19,  327  crore  rupees  for  the Ministry;

(c) the targeted incentives and the procedural reforms being introduced to expedite the 15 th Round of the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) bidding; and

(d)  the  manner  in  which  these  measures  are  expected  to  reverse  production  shortfalls  and bolster India's energy security?

## ANSWER

## पेट Ō ोिलयम और Ůाक ृ ितक गैस मंũालय मŐ राǛ मंũी (ŵी सुरेश गोपी)

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

(a) to (d): The Oilfield (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025 (ORD Act) was enacted and came into effect in 2025.  The Amended ORD Act aims to foster an investorfriendly  environment  that  enhances  Ease  of  Doing  Business  (EoDB).  The  Petroleum  and Natural Gas Rules, accordingly reflect the provisions of the Amended ORD Act.

Government had constituted a Joint Working Group (JWG), comprising representatives from key Exploration & Production (E&P) operators and Government, to assess and address issues affecting  the  EoDB  in  the  upstream  Oil  and  Gas  sector.  Pursuant  to  that,  Government approved a set of reforms which inter alia include delivery point(s) within and outside the contract area, transfer of Participating Interest (PI) among existing PI holders under a contract and field handover process in DSF contracts etc.

Government have launched Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) in 2016. Under  this  policy,  Open  Acreage  Licensing  Policy  (OALP)  was  started.  A  total  of  172 exploration  blocks  covering  3,78,652  Square  Kilometer  havebeen  awarded  to  successful bidders  under  9  bidding  rounds.  Further,  OALP  bid  Round  X  offering  25  exploration blocks covering 1,91,986.21 sq. km has been launched. It is the largest bid round so far in terms of acreage offered in a single OALP bid round under the HELP regime.

The salient features of HELP regime are as under:

- i. Reduced Royalty Rates,
- ii. No Oil Cess,
- iii. Uniform licensing system,
- iv. Revenue Sharing Model,
- v. Exploration rights on all retained area for full contract life,
- vi. Concessional Royalty Rates in case of early commercial production,
- vii. No  Revenue  Share  based  bidding  in  Blocks  falling  in  Category-II  and  III  Basins except in case of Wind fall gain etc.
- viii. Extended and phased exploration, bidding only 2D and 3D seismic and swapping of CWP with other surveys are key additional features for blocks falling in category II & III basins.
- ix. Originator Incentive Increased to 10 marks for Category-II & Category-III Basins

The  measures  for  increasing  the  domestic  exploration  and  production  of  hydrocarbon resources vis-à-vis the expansion of refining capacity and to reduce dependency on import of oil and gas inter-alia include:

- i. Policy  for  Relaxations,  Extensions  and  Clarifications  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 (CBM), 2017;
- vi. Policy to Promote/Incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods of Oil/Gas, 2018;
- vii. Policy Framework for exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Hydrocarbons including  CBM,  Shale  Oil  and  Gas  etc  under  Existing  Contracts  and  Nomination Fields, 2018;
- viii. Release of about 1 Million Sq. Km. (SKM) 'No-Go' area in offshore in 2022 which were earlier blocked for exploration for decades.
- ix. The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025;

The policy reforms and incentives offered under HELP regime enhance the capability of the E&P  industry  to  sustain  and  augment  domestic  production,  thereby  contributing  to  the strengthening of India's long-term energy security.

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