Oil India Limited (OIL) is a central public sector undertaking engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of liquid petroleum gas. The central public sector undertaking is a Maharatna, with the

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP&NG) is a List of Indian agencies, ministry of the Government of India responsible for the exploration, production, refining, distribution, marketing, import, export, and conservation of petroleum, ...

overseeing its operations. Headquartered in Duliajan, Assam, the company has its offices in Duliajan,

Noida Noida (), short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (ISO: ), is a city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As per provisional reports of Census of India, the population of Noida in 2011 was ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

and

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

. The company's history spans the discovery of crude oil in India in the year 1889, this was second in the World in the far east of India at

Digboi Digboi (IPA: ˈdɪgˌbɔɪ) is a town and a town area committee in Tinsukia district in the north-eastern part of the state of Assam, India. Crude oil was discovered here in late 19th century and first oil well was dug in 1866. Digboi is known ...

and Naharkatiya, Assam to its present status as a fully integrated upstream petroleum company presently operating in more than 9 locations overseas. Recently, OIL acquired majority shares in Numaligarh Refinery Limited from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, thus making Numaligarh Refinery Limited a subsidiary of OIL. State run oil major Oil India Limited was elevated as to the Maharatna status on recommendation from the Finance ministry of India government. This makes Oil India Limited the 13th Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE).

Exploration and production

Oil India Limited (OIL) was initially formed as a joint venture between the Burmah Oil Company Limited (BOC) and Government of India. The first oilfield in India was discovered in Digboi, Assam, as early as 1887, by a predecessor of Assam Oil, a subsidiary of BOC. (Corley, T A B, 1983, The History of the Burmah Oil Company, 1886–1983). Early in 1950s, Assam Oil discovered the first new oilfield in post-independence India, under the leadership of the geologist W. B. Metre, at Naharkatiya. Oil India was formed in 1959 to operate this new field and other nearby concessions, with Burmah Oil holding 2/3rd equity holding and Government of India holding 1/3rd equity. Later in 1961, this was changed to 50/50 shareholding. In 1982, Burmah Oil transferred all its shares to Government of India and Oil India became 100% Government owned. It was converted to a public limited company on 30 August 1995. Recoverable oil reserves. the company produced 3.466 MMT of

, 2625.81 million cubic metre at standard conditions of natural gas and 46,640 tonnes of LPG. Most of this was produced from its traditionally rich oil and gas fields concentrated in the Northeastern part of India and contribute around 80% of total oil and gas produced in the region. The search for newer avenues has seen OIL spreading out its operations in onshore / offshore

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

and Andaman,

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

offshore,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

, deserts of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, onshore

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, riverbeds of

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, and ...

and logistically difficult hilly terrains of the Indian state

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

. In

, OIL discovered gas in 1988, heavy oil / bitumen in 1991 and started production of gas in 1996. The company has accumulated over a hundred years of experience in the field of oil and gas production, since the discovery of

oilfield in 1889. The company has over of licensed areas for oil and gas exploration. It has emerged as a consistently profitable International company and present in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and United States. OIL has recently emerged in the offshore giant gas-field project of Mozambique and also made discovery of oil & gas in

as an Operator and

as non-operator. OIL acquired Shale oil asset in United States during 2012. In recent years, Oil India Limited has stepped up exploration and production activities significantly in north-eastern India. OIL has set up its NEF (North East Frontier) project to intensify its exploration activities in the frontier areas in North East, which are logistically very difficult and geologically complex. Presently, exploration activities are in progress along the Trust Belt areas of Arunachal, Assam including Mizoram. The company operates a crude oil pipeline from Duliajan to Barauni, in Bihar.

History

Oil India was founded on 18 February 1959, with its registered office in Duliajan, Assam, as a privately held oil exploration company. Burmah Oil Company originally held two-thirds of the stock and the Government of India (via the Office of the President) held the rest. This joint venture gave birth to the exploration and drilling at two new sites in Naharkatiya and Moran in

Dibrugarh district Dibrugarh district (Pron:ˌdɪbru:ˈgor:) is a district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located within the city of Dibrugarh. Etymology Dibrugarh derived its name from Dibarumukh (as a renowned encampment of Ahom ...

which had then been just recently discovered. In 1961,the Government of India acquired 50% ownership interest. In 1981, the Government of India acquired 100% of the equity interest in the company which by then controlled all the oilfields of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts. In 1961, construction of the company's first gas-powered power plant was completed in Duliajan, Assam. IN 1962, a 401 km (16-inch diameter) pipeline from Duliajan to

was completed. The following year, a 756 km (14-inch diameter) extension to the pipeline from Guwahati to Barauni in

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

was completed. A long fully automated telemetric pipeline with of looping and a total capacity to transport over 6.0 million

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s per year remains the lifeline of the company. Commissioned in 1962, the double skinned crude oil pipeline traverses 78 rivers including the

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese language, Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, the Siang/Dihan ...

as it meanders through paddy fields, forests and swamps. There are 11 pumping stations, 18 repeater stations and two terminals at Numaligarh and Rongapani in

Udalguri district Udalguri district (Pron:ˌʊdʌlˈgʊəri), also known as Odalguri, is a district in the Bodoland Territorial Region of the state of Assam in Northeastern India. Udalguri town is the headquarters of the district. Etymology The name Udalguri den ...

. The engines that drive the giant pumps along the pipeline have more than two hundred thousand hours of service and established a world record of machine hours. OIL completed the construction of a pipeline from Numaligarh to

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

in November 2007. The company also sells its gas to different customers in Assam: Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL), ASEB, NEEPCO,

Indian Oil Corporation Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL or IOC), trading as IndianOil, is an Indian multinational oil and gas company under the ownership of the Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is ...

's retail Assam Oil Division, and APL as well as to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam formerly part of the Rajasthan State Electricity Board. It also produces liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at its plant in Duliajan, Assam.

Management

;Chairman and Managing Directors :*1984 to 1987 - Maj Gen SCN Jatar. :*1992 to 1995 - Mr. Bikash Chandra Bora :* May 2002 to 28 February 2006 - Mr. Ranjit Kumar Dutta :*14 March 2006 to 1 December 2008 - Mr. Mulkh Raj Pasrija :*1 December 2008 to April 2012 - Mr. Nayan Mani Borah :* May 2012 to 30 June 2015 - Mr. S. K. Srivastava :*1 July 2015 to 17 July 2016 - vacant :*18 July 2016 to 30 September 2019 - Mr. Utpal Bora :*1 October 2019 to 30 June 2022- Mr. Sushil Chandra Mishra :*2 August 2022 to present - Dr. Ranjit Rath

International operations

OIL's overseas E & P portfolio consists of 17 Blocks spread over 10 countries: Libya, Gabon, Nigeria, Yemen, Venezuela, USA, Mozambique, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Russia. In addition to the above, OIL has 10% PI in 741 km long Multiproduct pipeline construction and operation project in Sudan which was completed in 2005. Subsidiaries Oil India Limited carries out operations through a total of five subsidiaries, namely OIIL (Oil Indian International Limited), Oil India International BV, Oil India Sweden AB, Oil India (USA) Inc and OIL Cyprus. During 2016-17 OIL along with Indian Consortium partners IOCL and BPRL acquired two producing assets in Russia - 23.9% stake in Vankorneft, Russia and 29.9% stake in Taas-Yuryakh, Russia. These assets are held through OIL's WOS Oil India International Pte. Ltd. incorporated in Singapore. TYNGD is a producing asset with current production of 1.13 MMT and expected peak production of 5 MMT by 2021. It is one of the largest green fields located in Eastern Siberia. TYNGD is ramping up required infrastructure to meet peak production level. Vankorneft has two licences - Vankor and North Vankor. It is a giant oil & gas producing field located in Eastern Siberia, and contributes to about 10% of Rosneft's entire oil production. The commercial agreements for sale of oil and gas are in place for the asset. Vankorneft started commercial production from 2009 and all infrastructure is in place. In License-61 in Russia, the development and production activities are undergoing at present. OIL is taking an active role in the development activities and supporting the operator of the license, M/s Petroneft Resources by providing expert opinions in selected areas. In Venezuela, Carabobo Project where OIL has PI of 3.5%, the development activities in the field are under progress. In the USA Liquid rich shale asset where OIL has 20% PI, OIL holds approx. 14172.75 net acres of the asset. Currently, OIL's share of daily production from this asset is around per day of oil equivalent. OIL together with OVL, has 10 per cent participating interest (OIL 4%, OVL 6%) in the Mozambique block in the Area 1 Rovuma Field. , the Initial development of Integrated Golfino-Atum (GA) Project. . The Area 1 JV is presently working on Four (4) elements, viz. (i) Legal and Contractual framework, (ii) Resettlement of the local community, (iii) Marketing of LNG, (iv) Project Financing, that must be sufficiently progressed before Operator Anadarko and the participants can determine economic viability and take Final Investment decision. The first production and revenue from the field is expected to be generated in fiscal year 2022/2023. In Libya, in the block Area 95/96,OIL holds 25% PI and Sonatrach is the operator. The consortium signed an Interim Arrangement Agreement to continue in the block till May 2018. In Gabon, Block SHAKTHI, a discovery has been made, which produced oil with gas. In Nigeria, Based on the interpreted results, consortium decided to re-enter the (Discovery Well) and re-entry in the well is under progress now. In Bangladesh, seismic acquisition and processing of acquired data is almost complete. In Myanmar, the Consortium led by OIL has completed Geoscientific Studies. OIL's overseas portfolio has contributed significantly to accretion of reserves and production of oil and Natural gas. During 2016–17, OIL's Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production for its proportionate share of stakes in the overseas producing assets stood at 0.9069 MMT and 352.99 million cubic metre at standard conditions respectively.

Association football team

References

External links

* {{authority control Energy companies established in 1959 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1959 1959 establishments in Uttar Pradesh Oil and gas companies of India Government-owned companies of India Burmah-Castrol Companies based in Assam Energy in Assam Companies nationalised by the Government of India

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

1959 establishments in Assam Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Oil and Natural Gas Corporation