Govt amends petroleum rules to boost exploration, ease operations: Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday announced landmark amendments to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025, aimed at accelerating domestic exploration and production (E&P) and strengthening India’s push for energy security.

In a post on X, the Minister said India is steadily strengthening its exploration and production ecosystem. One of the most significant changes is that companies will now receive a broader set of rights under a single petroleum lease. This means a lessee can carry out all kinds of mineral oil operations without applying for separate permissions. They can also take up decarbonisation projects and other integrated energy initiatives at their oilfields.

Key reforms include:

• A 180-day deadline for deciding petroleum lease applications.

• Long-term leases of up to 30 years, extendable to the economic life of the field, enabling more structured investment planning.

• Mandatory annual declarations of installed, utilised and excess infrastructure capacity, allowing joint development or shared use of facilities.

• New arbitration norms—New Delhi will be the seat for disputes involving only Indian companies; contracts with foreign entities may opt for a neutral seat.

• Standardised lease formats for uniformity and ease of administration.

• Requirements for time-bound plans to achieve zero gas flaring and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• A provision for special petroleum leases.

• Strict compliance obligations, including timely reporting of discoveries, submission of field development plans, government approvals for development areas, and regular updates on production activities.

Penalties for violations have been significantly raised to ₹25 lakh, with continuing contraventions attracting ₹10 lakh per day.

Puri said these reforms mark a major step in strengthening India’s domestic energy infrastructure under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.