Oil ministry showcases upstream reforms, financing and new bid rounds in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) held a series of upstream-focused engagements in Mumbai on January 19, 2026, drawing strong participation from domestic and global upstream operators, service providers, financial institutions, insurers, consultants, academia and industry experts.

In a virtual address, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said recent legislative, regulatory and policy reforms mark a transformative phase for India’s upstream sector. He said data-led exploration initiatives and policy certainty have unlocked major investment opportunities, particularly in offshore and frontier areas, while reaffirming the government’s commitment to a stable and globally competitive framework.

The programme included a workshop on financing India’s exploration and production growth, a session on amendments to the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, revised Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules and the updated Model Revenue Sharing Contract (, and a bid promotion event for upcoming upstream rounds. Discussions on financing focused on rising and front-loaded capital needs, balance-sheet constraints, bank guarantee requirements and emerging risk-mitigation tools such as insurance-backed surety bonds. Secretary, MoPNG, Neeraj Mittal stressed that timely access to capital will be critical for upstream execution.

At the bid promotion event, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons outlined forthcoming rounds, including OALP Bid Round X, DSF Bid Round IV and CBM rounds, highlighting India’s sizeable resource potential, improved data access and investor-friendly revenue-sharing regime.