Overview of Hydrocarbon Sector

Considered to be the biggest sector in the world in terms of dollar value, the oil and gas industry
is a global powerhouse employing hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide as well as
generating hundreds of billions of dollars globally each year. In regions which house the major
NOCs, these oil and gas companies are so vital they often contribute a significant amount towards
national GDP.
In this introduction to oil and gas industry we provide a snapshot of the petroleum sector.
The oil and gas industry can be broken down into three key areas: Upstream, midstream and
downstream.
The Upstream component is also refereed to as the E&P (exploration and exploration). This
involves search for underwater and underground natural gas fields or crude oil fields and the
drilling of exploration wells and drilling into established wells to recover oil and gas.
Downstream refers to the filtering of the raw materials obtained during the upstream phase. This
means refining crude oil and purifying natural gas. The marketing and commercial distribution of
these products to consumers and end users in a number of forms including: natural gas, diesel oil,
petrol, gasoline, lubricants, kerosene, jet fuel, asphalt, heating oil, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)
as well as a number of other types of petrochemicals. Midstream is generally classified under the
downstream category.

The largest volumes of products of the oil and gas industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol).
Petroleum is the primary material for a multitude of chemical products, including pharmaceuticals,
fertilizers, solvents and plastics. Petroleum is therefore integral to many industries, and is of critical
importance to many nations as the foundation of their industries.
In recent years there has been a growing negative sentiment towards the oil and gas industry and
"big energy". Major environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Of Mexico Oil
Spill have cast a negative spotlight up on the industry. The trend towards Renewable and
Alternative energy is also another threat to traditional oil and gas companies. Coupled with the
rise in pro-eco legislation and governmental pressure has meant the oil and gas industry is under
more scrutiny than ever.
However the Oil and gas industry is still extraordinarily successful and still experiences massive
growth. It's estimated that 30 billions barrels are consumed globally each year - primarily by
developed nations. Oil also accounts for a significant percentage of energy consumption regionally
from 32% for Europe and Asia, 40% for North America, 41% for Africa, 44% for South and 53%
for the Middle East.
In this resource centre you will find Oil & Gas IQ’s top rated oil and gas industry content including
articles, videos, webinars, podcasts and in-depth reports. You can find the latest content in the
sidebar on the right.
OilandGasIQ.com is the online portal dedicated to providing the latest intelligence for the oil and
gas community worldwide. We explore Oil and Gas industry developments and facilitate the
continued learning of oil and gas professionals. In addition to our online oil and gas content we
offer a slew of technical and strategic oil and gas industry conferences across Europe, Asia, the
US and the Middle East.

Story of Oil in India

The story of oil in India began in the dense jungles, swamps, damp and undulated terrain
of Brahmputra Valley, Assam in the middle of 19th century. The first well was drilled by
Mr.Goodenough of Mc killop, Stewart and Co.; near Jaipur in Upper Assam in 1866 following
a clue of oil show detected in the feet of an elephant carrying logs. This was just seven years
after the famous ‘Drake Well’, which heralded the beginning of the Petroleum era, was drilled
in Titus Ville, Pennsylvania, USA (1859)

1889 W.L.Lake of Assam Railway and Trading Co. (AR & T Co) started Digboi
Well No-1 Lake used to urge his men “Dig boy, dig” and hence the name
“Digboi” The discovery of the ‘Digboi Oil field’ in Upper Assam was a
landmark in the history of oil.
1899 AR&T Co formed a new company Assam Oil Company (AOC) and set up
a small refinery at Margharita (Upper Assam) with a capacity of 500
bopd to refine the Digboi-oil.
1901 Digboi refinery commissioned.
1911 Burmah Oil Company (BOC) arrives on the Indian scene .
1921 Burmah Oil Company (BOC) takes over Assam Oil Company (AOC).
1925 India’s first attempt to use geophysics in its search for oil with a Torsion
balance survey in the Bordubi area.
1937-39 Seismic surveys were initiated in and a major ‘High’ was located at
Nahorkatiya in Assam The successful outcome of NHK-1 was a
triumphant vindication of the geophysical methods of exploration.

Nahorkatiya triggered a new wave of enthusiasm in the search for oil in

the country and became the forerunner of discoveries not only in Assam
basin but also in other basins.
1948 Geological Survey of India (GSI) started geophysical surveys in Cambay
area.
1956 Moran oil field discovered by AOC.
August Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) was established.
14, 1956
October ONGC becomes autonomous body, under an act of parliament.
15, 1959
1959 Oil India Private Ltd (OIL) incorporated and registered as a Rupee
Company.
1960 Oil struck at Ankleswar in Gujarat and Rudrasagar in Assam.
1961 GOI and BOC become equal partners in OIL.
1962 The first public sector refinery comes up at Guwahati.
1963 World’s first crude oil conditioning plant commissioned at Nahorkatiya.
India’s first deviated well NHK122 drilled by OIL.
1963 ONGC started offshore seismic surveys in Gulf of Cambay.
1968 Oil discovered in Geleki by ONGC.

OIL commissioned the 1158 km oil pipeline to Guwahati and Barauni

refineries.
1970 India’s first offshore well spudded in the Gulf of Cambay.
1974 Drillship Sagar Samrat strikes oil in Bombay High.
1974 Bombay High discovered.
1981 First well spudded in Godavari offshore.
14 OIL becomes a Government of India enterprise.
October
1981
1983-84 Gas struck at Razole in Andhra Pradesh and Gotaru in Rajasthan.
1984 First Early Production system (EPS) commences in Gujarat .
1984 Gas was struck at Gotaru in Rajasthan by ONGC.
1984-85 Oil struck in kutch offshore, Godavari offshore and Changmaigam in
Assam.
1986-87 ONGC strikes oil in the Tapti offshore area and Namti structure (Assam).
1988-89 Commercial gas finds in Rajasthan by OIL Nada field in Gujarat
discovered .
1989-90 Western offshore production reaches a peak of 21.72 MMT.
1989-90 South Heera field discovered in Mumbai offshore.
1998 New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) launched and 48 Exploration
blocks offered under round-I.
2000 Second round of New Exploration Licensing Policy launched and 25
Exploration blocks offered .
2002 Third round of New Exploration Licensing Policy launched and 27
Exploration blocks offered.
2003 Fourth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy launched and 24
Exploration blocks offered.
2005 Fifth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy launched and 20
Exploration blocks offered .
2006 Sixth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy launched and 55
Exploration blocks offered .
2007 Seventh round of New Exploration Licensing Policy launched and 57
Exploration blocks offered .
Top