The development is in the context of the centre’s latest reforms to attract more investment in key sectors.
Murray Auchincloss, CEO of the energy major at London headquarters, said in an email that the company’s momentum in bidding for energy resources has gained momentum based on the centre’s focus on the E&P space to achieve self-sufficiency in India, which will help expand its reach in the country.
“RIL and BP supply India’s domestic gas production accounts for about one-third,” Auchincloss said. “We will seek to maintain and develop this through production enhancements in the current block, seeking to share access to new exploration permits with RIL and ONGC, and the development of discovery/marginal resources in other blocks through infrastructure sharing.”
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Additionally, he said BP will also consider expanding its partnership with ONGC to more oil and gas fields. In February this year, state-run ONGC and BP signed a contract under which BP will serve as the technology service provider (TSP) in India’s largest and most prolific offshore oil field, Mumbai Highlands.
“Working with ONGC to deploy our technology, skills and capabilities, we believe that the benchmark output increased by about 60% over the initial contract period of 10 years,” Auchincloss said.
BP in India
BP is one of India’s largest international energy companies, through a partnership with RIL, which has operated in the Krishna-Godavari and Mahanadi basins on the east coast and includes 50:50 Gas Marketing Venture, Indian gas solution PVT. Limited
BP’s activities in India also include Kustro lubricant, oil and gas transactions, through Lightsource BP, IT backend activities, new global business services centers, staffing and training of global BP Marine Corps personnel, and recruiting skilled Indian employees for BP global businesses.
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BP and RIL produce approximately 28 million cubic meters of gas per day, almost one-third of India’s total production – from the deep-sea deep-sea block KG-DWN-98/3 (kg-D6) in the Gulf of Bengal. They are now focusing on gas found in NEC-OSN-97/2 (NEC-25) off the coast of Odisha.
In the government’s reform initiative, including the recent approval of the Oilfields (Regulations and Development) amendment to Lok Sabha, a new plan to expand its business into new areas is in the government’s reform plan. Apart from several reform measures, the bill’s proposal for the disconnected oil business of mining is expected to bring more investment to the industry.
RIL and BP supply one-third of India’s domestic natural gas. – Murray Auchincloss
BP and ONGC jointly bid for the offshore area of OALP-IX and are expected to participate in the tenth round.
To be sure, under India’s hydrocarbon exploration and licensing policy (help), the mechanism by which the Open Cultivation Land Permit (OALP) auctions hydrocarbon blocks is used for exploration and production, allowing potential investors to obtain their chosen blocks by evaluating the E&P data available in the national data repository before they can express their interests. OALP-IX refers to the ninth round of the auction.
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The CEO said the U.S. announced reciprocal tariffs could lead to volatility in the oil and gas markets at a time of ongoing volatility in the U.S. energy market, but we expect demand for oil and gas to continue in the coming years, especially strong in the demand for gas in India, as well as growth in other emerging economies. ”
He further stated that the company will develop its oil and gas business, increasing investment to grow production while increasing cash flow.
“We are focusing on our customers and product businesses – reshaping our portfolios, focusing on the markets and businesses that we already have strengths and integrated positions. We continue to believe that the energy transition brings an important opportunity to invest in the returns our shareholders expect in the discipline that shareholders expect. BP will continue to be in the upstream businesses, and our goal is to make them a hard-working business, and we can be a business, and aligning our partner with our partner, and aligning our partner with our gas demand.”
Regarding the company’s retail portfolio in India, which is operated by another joint venture with RIL, Auchincloss said the company aims to be a leader in the mobility sector and expects growing demand for fuel and electric mobility in India to drive its growth in this sector.
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“Our downstream retail joint venture with RIL (jio-BP) delivers retail fuels, convenience, aviation fuel, biofuels, electric vehicle charging for trucking and LNG transportation is in great condition and we hope we will see substantial growth. We are driving a larger currency and advanced level network for our brands, products and services, which can promote a greater position in terms of our brands, products and services.
