Perspectives were also shared by financial institutions and insurers including the State Bank of India, New India Assurance and Bajaj Allianz, covering risk assessment frameworks, exposure considerations, bank guarantee structures and emerging risk-mitigation instruments such as insurance-backed surety bonds
New Delhi:The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) organised a series of upstream-focused engagements in Mumbai on 19 January .
The day-long programme witnessed strong and diverse participation from domestic and international upstream operators, Exploration and Production(E&P) service providers, global consulting firms, leading public and private sector financial institutions, insurers, academia and industry experts, reflecting the growing interest across the ecosystem in India’s upstream reform agenda and investment opportunities.
In his virtual address, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri highlighted that the recent legislative, regulatory and policy reforms mark a landmark and progressive transformation of India’s upstream sector.
He underscored that these reforms, coupled with data-led exploration initiatives, have unlocked extensive investment opportunities, particularly in India’s offshore and frontier areas, and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to providing a stable, transparent and globally competitive framework to attract sustained domestic and international investment.
Financing India’s E&P Growth
The workshop on “Financing India’s E&P Growth” examined the readiness of India’s financing ecosystem to support the scale, depth and continuity of upstream investment envisaged under the Government’s expanded exploration and production programme, including initiatives such as Samudra Manthan.
The session saw active participation from global consulting firms including S&P Global, Deloitte, A.T. Kearney and EY, who shared international perspectives on upstream financing models, risk allocation and capital mobilisation.
Perspectives were also shared by financial institutions and insurers including the State Bank of India, New India Assurance and Bajaj Allianz, covering risk assessment frameworks, exposure considerations, bank guarantee structures and emerging risk-mitigation instruments such as insurance-backed surety bonds.
It was highlighted that as exploration and development activities scale up, capital requirements are expected to rise sharply and become increasingly front-loaded, necessitating financing structures aligned with upstream risk profiles and investment cycles.