15-07-04 India’s crude oil reserves will exhaust in less than 20 years from now while its natural gas reserves will last another 28 years, oil and gas industry experts said at a CII lecture.
"At the current rate of production, we have 18-20 years of oil buffer and about 28 years of gas reserves," Avinash Chandra, former director general of the directorate general of hydrocarbon, said.

He, however, stated that the recent gas finds -- 14.5 tcf in offshore Andhra Pradesh and 4-5 tcf in offshore Orissa by Reliance Industries and ONGC discovering large oil and gas reserves both on East and the West coast -- will further augment natural gas production in the country.
"We estimate that natural gas production will reach 195-200 mm standard cmpd in 7-8 years from the current levels of 81 mm cmpd," he said. India is 70 % import-dependent to meet its 120 mm ton of crude requirement.

ONGC chairman and MD Subir Raha said, "we are not doing enough to build our ability through creation of strategic stockpile, to sustain disruption in oil supplies." Oil output will peak in less than 10 years time, he said, emphasising the need for a national energy security plan for a unified approach to energy security.
Mr Raha said while renewable energy may at best be able to replace 30 % of the oil consumption in the next 20 years, emphasis should be on saving oil through use of efficient technology in motor engines, irrigation pumps etc. and incentivising conservation.