This report profiles India’s oil and gas industry, discussing market trends through 2014 and outlook for 2015 and beyond. The report also highlights leading players in the sector including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd.

India’s oil and gas sector saw a period of consistent growth during the last decade after the government partially deregulated the sector. The sector is still under strict control by government through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which is responsible for the exploration, production, distribution, marketing and pricing of oil, natural gas and petroleum products. The sector also acts as a major source of revenue generation for the central and state governments. Various types of taxes are levied on oil, gas and petroleum products in India. These include sales tax charged by the state governments and excise taxes charged by the central government.

The oil and gas sector faced a tough year in FY15. The upstream segment saw a decline in the production of crude oil and natural gas. The downstream segment also recorded a subdued growth in refined crude throughput. The domestic sales were marred by the steep decline in oil prices. However, the decline in crude prices helped the government in reducing the trade deficit and subsidies in the sector. It also helped the government in going forward with the deregulation of diesel prices, thus implementing the suggestions of Kelkar committee report.

The long-term outlook for the Indian oil and gas sector is positive, driven by rising per capita energy consumption, rising middle class, greater ownership of vehicles and growth in industrial production.

Key Points:

• Indian crude refining capacity was at 215 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) in end-FY15. The public sector dominates the refining sector; accounting for 56% of the country’s installed refining capacity as of FY15.

• The sector directly contributes to the central and government exchequers through different taxes levied on oil and gas products. During 2006-13, total contribution of the oil and gas sector to the government exchequers grew at a CAGR of 11%.

• India’s share in world crude oil production was around 1%. Domestic production of crude oil grew at a CAGR of 1.4% during 2005-13, while domestic crude refining throughput grew at a CAGR of 7%. In FY14, it saw a growth of 10%.

• The annual average price of crude oil (Indian basket) grew at a CAGR of 21% during 2005-09. The price declined by 3.5% in FY13 and by around 2% in FY14, bringing some relief to refiners. In FY15, it saw a steep decline of 20% y/y, which led to lower growth in the production value across all segments.