Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has announced eight contracts under the Special Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Bid Rounds 2025 and 2026, alongside the release of the India Hydrocarbon Outlook 2026. The measures are aimed at increasing domestic hydrocarbon production and strengthening energy security.

Speaking at an industry event in New Delhi, Puri said the country’s CBM resource base was estimated at about 2.6 tn cubic metres. He described the new outlook as a strategic guide to policy initiatives and emerging opportunities, intended to improve transparency and support investment decisions in the upstream sector.

The minister said nearly 1 mn sq km had been opened for exploration after more than 99 per cent of previously restricted offshore and onshore No-Go areas were made available for active bidding. India drilled 674 wells during FY25-26, comprising 131 exploratory wells and 543 development wells, according to the details presented at the event.

Under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Rounds 10 and 11, more than 296,000 sq km of acreage has been offered across sedimentary basins. Puri said the government had opened 1 mn sq km of a total 3.5 mn sq km of sedimentary basins that had earlier been classified as No-Go areas. He added that the newly available acreage had attracted a significant share of bids in earlier rounds.

Puri also highlighted the Samudra Manthan Yojana, a government initiative designed to support high-risk offshore and deepwater drilling through a state-backed risk-sharing model. The scheme will make government resources of up to Rs. 847 bn available to support the drilling of about 150 wells over three years. The Union Cabinet has approved a Phase-I outlay of Rs. 840.84 bn up to FY31, with the programme intended to encourage private investment and intensify exploration and production activity.