Sanjeev Choudhary

ONGC is gearing up for a fresh geothermal drilling campaign in Ladakh, aiming to tap into emission-free energy sources. The project could provide electricity, heating, and irrigation in Ladakh's harsh terrains. Planned drilling in June aims to complete two 1,000-meter wells by September. If successful, a 1 MW power plant could be operational by next year. Iceland, a geothermal energy leader, is advising ONGC. Overcoming past setbacks, including water control and logistics, is key, with advanced equipment and careful planning in place.

GAIL plans to double its LNG trading volume by 2030, Gupta said, without specifying the current size of its business. "We have expertise in gas. We have been procuring from so many geographies. We have sold several US cargoes to multiple customers," said Gupta.

The share of India's state companies in oil and gas production from overseas fields increased to 19.9 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) in 2023-24 from 19.5 MMTOE in the previous year. Production at Russia's Skahalin-1 project normalised during the financial year, after being badly affected in 2022 following the launch of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Indian Oil Corp announced a Rs 5,215 crore investment to develop 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in India. The plan includes setting up standalone solar, wind, or hybrid projects. Indian Oil will invest Rs 1,304 crore in equity and establish a renewable energy subsidiary.

In April, Russia's share in Indian crude oil imports rose to nearly 40%, up from 30% in March, driven by higher global oil prices. Indian refiners imported 1.78 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil from Russia, surpassing imports from China and Europe. Russia supplied more oil to India than its next three top suppliers combined. Overall, Indian crude imports dropped 8% in April, with declines from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the US.

India's exports of diesel and petrol fell by a fifth year-on-year to $33 billion in 2023-24 due to declining international prices. Diesel generated the largest share of export revenues for Indian refiners, accounting for $22 billion of the $48 billion earned by exports of refined fuels. The war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Russia caused fuel prices to rise, boosting export earnings for Indian refiners.

"Road construction activity is in full swing. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) constructed 12,349 km of national highways in 2023-24, the second highest so far, compared to 10,331 km in 2022-23," the oil ministry said in its industry demand analysis.

Over the span of six years, state-operated oil and gas enterprises reduced their workforce by 15,700 positions, constituting 14% of their total employees, despite a near doubling of their revenues. This downsizing trend particularly affected non-managerial roles.

India's diesel exports to Europe dropped to 210,000 bpd in April due to US and Gulf competition. Vortexa tracked weakened margins. Asian exports grew. Ukrainian conflict spurred Russian diesel replacement.

The Centre extended the deadline for submitting bids in the latest auctions of oil and gas exploration licences managed by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). Multiple deadline extensions in recent bidding rounds aim to attract more investors. In the first round, Vedanta was the top winner of licences.