India is the fifth largest energy consumer in the world

India ranks sixth in refining capacity in the world

India is sixth largest crude oil consumer in the world

India is ninth largest crude oil importer in the world

Out of the top ten Fortune Global 500 companies six are pumping petroleum.

Out of the six Indian companies that have made it to the Fortune Global 500 list, five belong to petroleum sector.

NELP VI, awarded in March 2007, expected to bring in investment of $8 -10 bn. NELP VII expected to offer 70-80 blocks (compared to 55 in NELP VI) and hence similar if not more additional investments being expected

With 26 sedimentary basins in an area of 3.14 million square km and prognosticated reserves of 28 billion tonne of oil equivalent of gas, India is relatively unexplored with only 18 per cent of area extensively explored (Source: DGH).

Post 2000, India witnessed some world class discoveries. The Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin on the East coast of India with estimated reserves of 14 tcf was the world’s biggest gas discovery of 2002. Similarly huge oil reserves are struck in Rajasthan also.

Indian Oil & Gas companies have gone international by picking Oil Equity abroad - Vietnam, Russia, Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, among other

Indian Oil & Gas companies are leaving no stone unturned to globalize marketing operations in international markets - Sri Lanka, Mauritius are already operational. Sudan, Romania, Venezuela, Russia, Kazakhstan, UK, etc. are on the anvil.

While the total number of retail outlets managed by IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL numbered 26,652 as on April 1, 2005, another 10000+ retail outlets have been authorised to be opened by other public / private players like Reliance, Essar, Shell, ONGC-MRPL etc.

Three more LNG terminals apart from Petronet LNG's terminal at Dahej and Shell's Hazira terminal, are expected to be commissioned in near future.

Remuneration in Oil & Gas industry set to rise exorbitantly. Economic times 3rd Oct, 2007, reports global HR consultant Hewitt Associates advises a variable pay package as high as 150% of the base salary.

PwC – Petrofed report: Huge shortage of skilled manpower in the Indian Oil & Gas industry. The study estimates that overall shortfall for Petro professionals will be about 30,000 by the year 2012.