India courts foreign investors

The government is seeking to revitalise the country’s upstream through a variety of reforms, says Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain

India’s dependence on imported hydrocarbons is becoming an ever-growing political and strategic concern as the country’s economic expansion boosts its energy demand. Part of the solution is to unlock more of its domestic production potential, but progress has been frustratingly slow. Pankaj Jain, petroleum secretary in India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, recently spoke to Petroleum Economist in Houston—where the minister was on a roadshow aimed at attracting international E&P investors—about New Delhi’s plans for the oil and gas sector, including stimulating domestic output.What measures are the Indian government taking to reverse the recent trend of declining domestic oil and