British energy giant BP is holding a board meeting in India as it seeks to explore new opportunities in the country's oil and gas sector, reported Reuters.   

India, ranking as the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, is looking to significantly increase its oil and gas production, which has been stagnant for some years. 

In June, the Indian Government announced that the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was seeking a technical partnership with a global oil major to enhance production from its Mumbai High fields in the western offshore region.  

In a statement, bp CEO Murray Auchincloss said: “We see growing business opportunities, including through our world-class partnership with Reliance, producing the country's gas and growing our joint retail presence.” 

The bp board, which is on a five-day visit, met with India's Oil Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, this week. 

In a post on X, Puri said: “Robust partnership between the global energy major and India, which spans across the entire energy value chain including exploration and production, biofuels, fuel retail and other emerging areas will continue to grow further.” 

BP, in collaboration with Reliance Industries, operates 1,900 fuel retail stations across India and is also engaged in producing oil and gas from a deep-water block in the Krishna-Godavari basin, located off the east coast of the country.  

As per the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons' website, the partnership between Reliance and bp has also joined forces with ONGC to bid for exploration rights for an offshore block in India. 

BP chairman Helge Lund said: “By leveraging our combined experience and expertise with our partners, we aim to facilitate the secure, affordable and lower-carbon growth of India's energy resources to meet the increasing demand.” 

Last month, BP and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) initiated discussions with officials from Cyprus' Energy Ministry to consider investment opportunities in Cyprus' emerging natural gas sector.  

Earlier in the year, bp and ADNOC disclosed their intentions to establish a joint venture to develop new gas resources in the East Mediterranean.