BP Expands in India, Seeks Increased Investment and Cooperation

Energy giant BP plans to hold a board meeting in India to explore more opportunities in the country, which is the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer.

India aims to rapidly boost its oil and gas production, which has stagnated for years. In June, the Indian government announced that Oil and Natural Gas Corp, the country’s largest explorer, was seeking a technical tie-up with a global oil major to increase output from its western offshore Mumbai High field.

BP Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss stated, “We see growing commercial opportunities, including producing the country’s gas through our world-class partnership with Reliance and expanding our combined retail business.”

During a five-day visit to India, BP’s board of directors met with Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Puri emphasized, “The strong partnerships between global energy majors and India, across the entire energy value chain including exploration and production, biofuels, fuel retail, and other emerging areas, will continue to grow further.”

BP, in partnership with Reliance Industries, operates 1,900 petrol stations across India and produces oil and gas from a deepwater block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the country’s east coast. The partnership has also teamed up with India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to bid for exploration rights in an offshore block in India.

BP chairman Helge Lund stated, “By leveraging our combined experience and expertise with our partners, we aim to promote secure, affordable, and low-carbon growth of India’s energy resources to meet growing demand.”

BP’s expansion in India is expected to contribute to the country’s goal of increasing its oil and gas production, while also promoting sustainable and low-carbon energy growth.