India has made significant strides in its green energy and domestic production goals, with the establishment of 132 operational Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plants across the country. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, announced this milestone, revealing that these facilities now boast a combined production capacity of 920 tonnes per day (TPD).
Sustainable Fuel from Waste: The SATAT Initiative
This growth is a direct result of the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme, which was launched on October 1, 2018. The program aims to build a nationwide ecosystem for producing CBG from various waste and biomass sources. According to Minister Puri, this initiative serves a triple purpose: converting farm and organic waste into clean fuel, supporting rural incomes, and reducing harmful emissions.
"What was once waste is now powering progress," Puri stated in a social media post. Major public sector oil and gas marketing companies, including IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, and IGL, have been actively seeking entrepreneurs under SATAT. They have invited expressions of interest to procure CBG for further marketing, creating a structured demand for this sustainable fuel.
Boosting Domestic Energy Exploration
In a parallel move to strengthen India's energy security, the government has also taken major steps to ramp up domestic exploration. Puri highlighted that in December 2025, India offered 50 new exploration and production (E&P) blocks covering oil, gas, and coal bed methane resources.
The offering is structured across multiple bid rounds:
- Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP-X): 25 blocks covering approximately 1.83 lakh square kilometres, including onland, shallow water, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater areas.
- Discovered Small Field (DSF-IV): 55 fields across 9 contract areas or blocks.
- Special CBM Bid Rounds: 3 blocks in 2025 and 13 blocks in 2026.
Puri emphasized that these blocks come with investor-friendly terms like exploration rights for the entire contract period, graded royalty rates, and flexible work programmes. For the DSF-IV round, deepwater areas will benefit from zero royalty for the first seven years and relaxed eligibility norms. The CBM rounds offer similar incentives, including pricing freedom and cost reimbursement for mandated drilling in the 2026 round.
A Unified Regulatory Framework
To further improve the business environment in the energy sector, the government has introduced key legislative changes. Puri noted that the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025 and the PNG Rules 2025 have established a unified regulatory framework. This move is designed to significantly enhance the ease of doing business for companies operating in this critical sector.
Together, these developments mark a two-pronged strategy: aggressively pursuing cleaner, waste-to-wealth energy solutions like CBG while simultaneously unlocking the country's conventional hydrocarbon potential through transparent and attractive exploration policies. This approach aims to secure India's energy future, reduce import dependence, and contribute to environmental sustainability.
