BPRL Operations

Operations of the Company

BPRL, established in October 2006 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BPCL, was tasked with spearheading upstream Oil & Gas investments. Its portfolio comprises of blocks in different phases of exploration, appraisal, development, and production. Covering an acreage of 19,824 square kilometres, approximately 46% of the acreage owned by BPRL and its subsidiaries is in the offshore expanse.

BPRL holds Participating Interest (PI) in 15 blocks, with 8 blocks located in India and 7 blocks in overseas. Additionally, BPRL has equity stakes in two Russian entities, which hold licenses for four producing blocks in Russia. While BPRL directly holds PI in domestic blocks, its stakes with respect to blocks in Brazil, Mozambique, Indonesia, UAE and equity stakes in Russian entities are held through step-down wholly owned subsidiaries or joint ventures (JVs) of the wholly owned subsidiaries located in the Netherlands and Singapore.

In FY 2024-25, BPRL Group’s share of Oil & Gas production was 2.64 MMTOE.

Bharat PetroResources Limited (BPRL), the upstream arm of BPCL, has Participating Interest (PI) in fifteen blocks, of which eight are in India and seven overseas, along with equity stakes in two Russian entities holding the license to four producing blocks in Russia. BPRL has wholly owned subsidiary companies located in the Netherlands, Singapore and India for holding the aforementioned assets. The subsidiary in India, viz., Bharat PetroResources JPDA Limited, held PI in one block in Timor Leste, which has been relinquished.

Global Presence

About 46 percent of its total 19,825 sq km E&P area is in offshore.

Country

Brazil

Mozambique

Indonesia

India

UAE

Russia

Basin

Campos
Sergipe-Alagoas

Rovuma

Tarakan

Cauvery &
Cambay

Offshore &
Onshore

East Siberia

HC Type

Oil and Light HC

GAS

Oil and GAS

Oil

Oil and GAS

DOMESTIC BLOCKS

CB-ONN-2010/8 (Onshore Cambay Basin, Gujarat)

Under the NELP-IX Bid Round, a BPRL-led consortium was awarded the on-land block CB-ONN-2010/8 in the Cambay basin. The consortium includes BPRL as the Lead Operator, GAIL (India) Ltd. (Joint Operator), Engineers India Ltd. (EIL), and BF Infrastructure Ltd. (BFIL). During the initial exploration period, two discoveries were made, and the Field Development Plan was approved by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). However, due to unviable project economics, BPRL has submitted a relinquishment proposal to DGH.

CB-ONHP-2017/9 (Onshore Cambay Basin, Gujarat)

The block CB-ONHP-2017/9 in Cambay basin, Gujarat was awarded to BPRL under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bid Round-I, and the Revenue Sharing Contract (RSC) of the block was signed with Govt. of India on October 1, 2018. BPRL is the lead Operator in the block with PI of 60% and ONGC is the partner with 40% PI.

Based on integrated interpretation of seismic and well data of existing wells in the block, drilling of three wells has been completed, including the minimum work program. Of the three wells, two wells have indicated presence of Hydrocarbons through testing, however commercial Hydrocarbons could not be established.

CY/ONDSF/Karaikal/2016 (Onshore Cauvery Basin, Tamil Nadu)

BPRL was awarded the Karaikal Contract Area in the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Bid Round of 2016 with 100% PI. The Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) for the block is still awaited from State Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

CY-ONN-2002/2 (Madanam Field, Onshore Cauvery Basin, Tamil Nadu)

BPRL has PI of 40% in an On-land block CY-ONN-2002/2 in Cauvery basin with ONGC being the Operator with 60% PI. During FY 2024-25, 63,337 MT of oil (BPRL share: 25,335 MT) and 29.25 mmscm of gas (BPRL share: 11.70 mmscm) has been produced from the block.

CY-ONN-2004/2 (Onshore Cauvery Basin, Tamil Nadu)

BPRL has PI of 20% in this block, and ONGC with PI of 80% is the Operator of the block. The Field Development Plan (FDP) was approved on July 13, 2017 and the first two development wells drilled did not yield the desired results. G&G studies have been carried out to understand the hydrocarbon prospectivity. Meanwhile, State Govt. of Tamil Nadu granted conditional “Petroleum Mining License” (PML) stating that no wells shall be drilled in the area which falls under the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Development Zone 2020.

CB-ONN-2010/11 (Onshore Cambay Basin, Gujarat)

CB-ONN-2010/11, the onshore block was awarded by Government of India to the consortium, currently consisting of GAIL as Operator, BPRL and EIL .Total crude oil production in FY 2024-25 has been 5382 bbls (724 MT) at Consortium level (BPRL Share : 213 MT).

AA-ONN-2010/3 (Assam Arakan Basin, Assam)

AA-ONN-2010/3, an On-land block was awarded by Government of India to a consortium consisting of BPRL (20%), OIL(40%) & ONGC(40%) and under NELP IX Bid Round. The Minimum Work Program (MWP) has been completed and due to complications during drilling of the MWP commitment well SDYA-1, it was plugged and abandoned. Operator has requested DGH/MoPNG for a three-year extension for drilling of a replacement well in the block.

AA-ONHP-2017/12 (Assam Arakan Basin, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh)

The consortium partners of the block are BPRL(10%) and OIL (60% ) is the Operator,. The exploration period has been extended till February 08, 2026. As per revised committed Minimum Work Program (MWP), all activities viz. 2D and 3D Seismic data Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation are completed except for drilling of one well. Operator is planning to complete the MWP well.

OVERSEAS ASSETS

BPRL holds 10% PI in Offshore Area 1, Rovuma Basin Concession in Mozambique. TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of TotalEnergies S.A. is the Operator with 26.5% PI.

Offshore Area-1, Mozambique has five discovered gas fields namely, Golfinho-Atum, Prosperidade, Orca, Tubarao-Tigre and Tubarao. Water depth in the concession ranges from 500 m to 1800 m. Golfinho-Atum field holds 30.1 Tcf of Recoverable Gas and is currently under development. Plateau Production from the field is planned at ~ 2 bcf per day. The Prosperidade field contains 34.9 Tcf of recoverable resources. The remaining three discovery fields—Orca, Tubarao, and Tubarao-Tigre—collectively contribute 5 Tcf of recoverable resources. Following the discovery of vast quantities of natural gas in Rovuma Offshore Area 1 , Area 1 consortium partners announced Final Investment Decision (FID) on June 18, 2019 to initially develop a 2x6.56 MMTPA-Train onshore LNG project for monetization of the gas discovered from offshore Golfinho-Atum discovery area.

Following the discovery of vast quantities of Natural Gas and subsequent to the Final Investment Destination (FID), the project was on schedule and within budget till March 2021, due to the security incidents around the Afungi Project Site during end – March 2021, the consortium declared Force Majeure.

The Government of Mozambique is working towards the reestablishment of peace and resolving the security situation. Mozambican military along with Rwandan forces continue their operations in the region.

During the year 2024-25 , the project has implemented various comprehensive socio-economic initiatives in the area. The Project is currently operating in hybrid mode (preservation along with operations without compromising FM conditions). There has been an improvement in the security situation and as informed by the Operator, the project is expected to restart after satisfactory assurances regarding the security in Cabo Delgado province.

IBV Brasil Petroleo Limitada (IBV), incorporated in Brazil, a joint venture company of BPRL Ventures BV with 64.35% shareholding, and Videocon Energy Brazil Ltd. (VEBL), step-down subsidiaries of BPRL and Videocon Industries Limited, respectively, currently holds PI in three deep-water blocks in two concessions.

Sergipe Alagoas (BM-SEAL-11) Concession

IBV holds 40% PI in the BM-SEAL-11 concession and the remaining 60% PI is held by the Operator, Petrobras. The Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) was submitted to the Regulator in December 2021. Currently, procurement activities are ongoing with the tender for long lead items i.e Floating Production Storage & Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which has already been published.

BPRL holds 16.2% PI , while PT PertaminaHulu Energi Nunukan Company (PHENC) holds the remaining 83.8% PI and is the operator. The Production Sharing Contract (PSC) signed on December 12, 2004, is valid until 2034. The minimum work program under the PSC's exploration phase has been completed. The Revised Plan of Development (POD) for Badik-West Badik fields has been approved, and the operator plans to complete the Revised FEED by December 2025. The Revised POD includes setting up a Mini LNG Plant by the gas buyer, with negotiations underway for the Gas Sales Agreement (GSA).

Lower Zakum Concession

BPRL, IOCL, and OVL hold a 10% stake in the Lower Zakum Concession in Abu Dhabi, UAE, through Falcon Oil & Gas B.V., an SPV in the Netherlands. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company holds 60% and is the Operator. In 2024-25, the concession produced 18.67 MMT of oil (BPRL share: 0.56 MMT). BPCL Group Refineries accessed approximately 2.77 million barrels (0.3644 MMT) of Das Blend Crude Oil as its equity oil share. BPRL International Ventures B.V. received a dividend of USD 5.70 million. The long-term plan aims to extend and sustain the oil plateau through a three-phase development plan, with Phase 1 currently under implementation.

Onshore Block 1 Concession

The block is held by Urja Bharat Pte Ltd (UBPL), a 50:50 joint venture company of wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) of BPRL and IOCL, incorporated in Singapore. There are two existing undeveloped discoveries in the area, named Ruwais and Mirfa, in addition to available prospects/leads for exploration.

The exploration phase of the Block is for nine (09) years with an Initial exploration period of four (04) years, Second exploration period of three (03) years and Third exploration period of two (02) years. Currently concession is in its second exploration period and the commitment is to drill two Mirfa Appraisal wells and one Exploratory well in 2nd Exploration period.

The approval of Ruwais Field development plan has been received from the Regulator in April 2024 and Production Concession agreements (PCA) have been executed in September 2024 and the concession is moving towards developmental activities. The oil production from the field is anticipated in 2026.

In the remaining part of the block area, four exploratory wells have been drilled successfully and presence of hydrocarbons has been established in two wells. In XN-79 well, presence of hydrocarbons has been established from Habshan reservoir and in XN-76 well Oil & Gas has been established from the Unconventional Shilaif reservoir. Discovery notice for two wells has been given to Regulator. Currently Geoscientific Studies are ongoing to finalize the Appraisal activities of these discoveries and to identify and finalize one Exploratory and Two Mirfa Appraisal Well locations.

BPRL, Oil India Ltd. (OIL), and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), collectively known as the Indian Consortium (IC), hold stakes in JSC Vankorneft (23.9%) and LLC TYNGD (29.9%) through joint ventures Vankor India Pte Ltd. (VIPL) and Taas India Pte. Ltd. (TIPL), respectively. In JSC Vankorneft, LLC Vostok is the operator with 50.1% shares and in In LLC TYNGD, RN Upstream LLC (Rosneft Group) is the operator with 50.1% shares. In 2024-25, JSC Vankorneft produced 8.47 MMT of oil and 3.98 BCM of gas, with BPRL’s share being 0.67 MMT of oil and 0.31 BCM of gas. IC received dividend of Rub 9.27 billion (USD 103.75 million), with BPRL’s share being USD 34.24 million. In LLC TYNGD, RN Upstream LLC (Rosneft Group) is the operator with 50.1% shares, IC holds 29.9%, and BP holds 20%. Whereas, TYNGD produced 4.77 MMT of oil and 5.94 BCM of gas, with BPRL’s share being 0.47 MMT of oil and 0.59 BCM of gas. IC received dividend of Rub 12.15 billion (USD 138.33 million), with BPRL’s share being USD 45.65 million.

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