India expands oil exploration after Iran war
Analysis based on 21 articles · First reported Jun 30, 2026 · Last updated Jul 05, 2026
India's energy diversification and domestic exploration push may reduce long-term supply risk and support energy security, but near-term costs remain high due to past losses and capital-intensive exploration. The shift away from Middle East contracts could alter global crude trade flows and benefit alternative suppliers.
Following the Iran war and the biggest energy supply shock in decades, India is expanding domestic crude exploration and diversifying its oil import sources to reduce reliance on the Middle East. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced bidding for 250,000 sq km of unexplored area and a $10 billion exploration program. State refiners plan to cut long-term Middle East contracts and increase spot-market purchases, while also exploring imports from Guyana, Brazil, and the US. India also suffered Rs 74,781 crore losses from selling fuel below cost during the crisis. The government is building strategic reserves and working with deepwater experts including Petrobras, TotalEnergies, BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil. Diplomatic efforts involved visits to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iran to secure energy supplies.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard