India's crude oil production and natural gas output declined in FY20-21, according to latest government data. Crude oil production declined by 5.2 percent as private and public firms produced 30.5 million tonnes this fiscal compared to 32.17 million tonnes produced during the same period last year.

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Natural gas production declined by 8.1 percent and this year only 28.67 billion cubic meters was produced compared to 31.18 billion cubic meters last year.

India's oil and natural gas production have been consistently falling since the last decade though oil companies have claimed that the recent decline is due to COVID-19 related restrictions.

However, reports suggest that the main reason for the slump in production is due to ageing fields, which are becoming less productive with time.

Indian Express quoted industry sources as saying that there are no more 'easily extractable oil and natural gas' fields and the producers are being forced to deploy technology intensive methods in extracting oil and gas from more difficult fields such as ultra-deep-water. Moreover, producers are hesitant in investing capital in intensive technology.

A reason for hesitance in investing more in technology might be because two of the biggest oil and gas producing companies, ONGC and Oil India, are government-owned corporations. The two giants have often shown that they are averse to rapid technological investment, industry sources claimed.

Major technological advancement and investment in any sector are mostly brought in by private corporations and there is a significant lack of private participation in the oil and gas industry. Many private players are reluctant to join India's hydrocarbon production market due to major difficulties regarding environmental clearances and approval for oil and gas fields.

The union government has been trying to reach out to foreign corporations to attract more producers and even financial incentive to such corporations are under consideration.

Another factor is internal maximum limits on production to combat climate change, which have also resulted in a disinterest in expanding oil and natural gas production further.

While lowering reliance on fossil fuel to combat climate change is admirable and necessary, there is a lack of alternative energy sources. This results in India importing crude oil and natural gas from other countries, completely eradicating whatever climate benefits could be found from limiting the production of fossil fuels.