India has total reserves (proved & indicated) of 1201 million metric tonnes of crude oil and1437 billion cubic metres of natural gas as on 1.4.2010. The total number of exploratory and development wells and metreage drilled in onshore and offshore areas during 2009-10 was 428 and 1019 thousand metres respectively. Crude oil production during 2009-10 at 33.69 million metric tonnes is 0.55% higher than 33.51 million metric tonnes produced during 2008-09. Gross Production of Natural Gas in the country at 47.51 billion cubic metres during 2009-10 is 44.63% higher than the production of 32.85 billion cubic metres during 2008-09

Private participation in oil & gas exploration and production are guided by the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959. The petroleum sector consists of four sub-sectors, namely, exploration and production, oil refining and marketing, natural gas transportation and marketing, and crude oil and petroleum products pipelines. Of these four, the first, referred to as upstream, is regulated by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The remaining three downstream sub-sectors fall under the domain of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board of India (PNGRB).