Directorate General of Hydrocarbons

Name

Directorate General of Hydrocarbons

Legal name

Directorate General of Hydrocarbons

Website

https://dghindia.gov.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Noida

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Exploration Block Licensing Revenue: Government revenue generated through competitive bidding rounds (OALP, DSF, CBM) where oil and gas exploration blocks are allocated to winning bidders. Revenue comes from signature bonuses, production royalties, and revenue sharing contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

DGH is India's upstream petroleum and natural gas regulator under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It administers competitive licensing rounds (OALP, DSF, CBM) to allocate exploration acreage to E&P companies, manages production-sharing contracts, and conducts multi-client seismic data acquisition under the Samudra Manthan National Offshore Mission to open previously restricted offshore areas for exploration.

Product overview

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) operates as India's upstream petroleum regulator, overseeing a portfolio of competitive bidding programmes and exploration initiatives rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings include the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds X and XI for awarding exploration acreage, the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) programme for marginal discoveries, and Special Coal-bed Methane (CBM) bid rounds. The Samudra Manthan National Offshore Mission represents a flagship initiative to open previously restricted deepwater areas through multi-client seismic data acquisition. Together, these programmes constitute India's upstream exploration licensing ecosystem, designed to attract foreign and domestic investment to reverse two decades without a major hydrocarbon discovery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Acreage Licensing Policy Round X (OALP-X) Competitive bid round offering 25 oil and gas exploration blocks covering approximately 191,986 sq km across 13 sedimentary basins including 12 ultra-deepwater blocks and 4 Andaman basin blocks, targeting global and domestic E&P companies.
• Open Acreage Licensing Policy Round XI (OALP-XI) Competitive bid round offering 5 deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks for oil and gas exploration in India's offshore sedimentary basins.
• Discovered Small Fields Round IV (DSF-IV) Competitive bid round offering 9 contract areas with approximately 200 MMTOE of 2P reserves for marginal field development, providing streamlined licensing terms for E&P operators.
• Special Coal-bed Methane (CBM) Bid Rounds 2025-2026 Competitive bid rounds for coal-bed methane blocks across Indian states including Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh, targeting domestic natural gas production under liberalized licensing terms.
• Samudra Manthan - National Offshore Mission National initiative accelerating deep-sea and ultra-deepwater oil and gas exploration by funding seismic data acquisition in nearly 1 million sq km of previously restricted offshore no-go zones, opening frontier basins for exploration.
• Multi-Client Seismic Data Programme Data-driven exploration service providing investment-grade multi-client seismic data to broaden geological interpretation and reduce exploration sector uncertainty for potential upstream investors in India's offshore basins.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce India's oil import dependence from 88% through domestic exploration expansion
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• BPminorOthers · 18 April 2026International oil major BP participated in India's Data-Led Exploration Conference under the Samudra Manthan National Offshore Mission, exploring investment opportunities in India's exploration acreage.
• ExxonMobilminorOthers · 18 April 2026Global E&P company ExxonMobil engaged with India's exploration sector reforms and upcoming bid rounds during the Data-Led Exploration Conference.
• ShellminorOthers · 18 April 2026International energy company Shell participated in stakeholder discussions on India's upstream opportunities and data-driven exploration initiatives.
• TGScoreTechnology or Integration · 18 April 2026Seismic service provider TGS engaged in India's multi-client seismic data acquisition programmes under Samudra Manthan, providing exploration data services for frontier and deepwater basins.
• ViridiencoreTechnology or Integration · 18 April 2026Geophysical services company Viridien provides seismic data acquisition and processing capabilities for India's offshore exploration initiatives.
• Shearwater GeoServicescoreTechnology or Integration · 18 April 2026Marine seismic acquisition company Shearwater GeoServices participates in India's offshore data acquisition programmes for deepwater exploration.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Oil India Limited: State-owned E&P company under MoPNG that bids in CBM and OALP rounds and is subject to DGH regulation — comparable as a major domestic operator within DGH's regulatory perimeter.

Direct peers

• Agência Nacional do Petróleo (ANP, Brazil): Brazil's national oil and natural gas regulator running competitive bid rounds for exploration acreage and managing multi-client geophysical data — comparable emerging-market analogue to DGH with a similar deepwater focus.
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM): US federal regulator overseeing offshore oil, gas, and renewable energy leasing on the US outer continental shelf — operates the same offshore licensing and acreage allocation model that DGH is expanding via OALP and Samudra Manthan.
• North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA): UK's upstream oil and gas regulator (formerly Oil and Gas Authority) managing exploration licensing, data services, and now carbon storage permitting — directly comparable to DGH as a national regulator with an expanding energy-transition mandate.
• Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD): Norway's national upstream petroleum regulator, responsible for resource management, exploration licensing rounds, and national subsurface data — the closest functional analogue to DGH, operating a mature version of the model DGH is now building under Samudra Manthan.
• Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH, Mexico): Mexico's upstream hydrocarbon regulator licensing exploration and production acreage following energy reform — closely comparable in mandate, mandate-creating reform context, and emerging-market deepwater scope.

Regional players

• Canadian Energy Regulator (CER): Canada's federal energy infrastructure and pipeline regulator with overlapping mandates in resource development oversight and inter-agency data coordination — comparable as a regulatory peer, though focused more on midstream than upstream exploration.

Others

• ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation):

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DghIndia
• Facebookfacebook.com/DGHIndiaOfficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Directorate General of Hydrocarbons