India Expands Domestic Oil Exploration to Cut Import Dependence

India is expanding domestic crude oil exploration in an effort to boost energy supply at home and reduce reliance on imported energy. According to Jin10, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said the country is scaling up domestic exploration to increase local energy supply and lower dependence on imports. Agence France-Presse reported on July 5 that restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months led to energy supply shortages in India. Puri told AFP that this situation pushed India to intensify efforts to expand domestic energy supply, adding that bidding is currently being advanced for about 250,000 square kilometers of unexplored areas. Data from India’s petroleum sector showed that in fiscal year 2025 (April 1 to March 31), India’s domestic crude oil output was 25.98 million tonnes, equivalent to about 522,000 barrels per day. This was below the peak output level of more than 900,000 barrels per day in 2011 and met only about 10% of the country’s crude oil demand. To address tight supply, India has expanded the number of crude oil supplier countries to 41 from 27, adding suppliers including Iran and Venezuela, while increasing purchases from Russia and multiple African countries.