Gasoline production is set to grow in 2016 due to the commissioning of Indian Oil Corp.'s 2.9 million mt/year continuous catalytic reformer at its greenfield 15 million mt/year (300,000 b/d) Paradip refinery, and completion of Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.'s gasoline capacity expansion at its Kochi refinery by 6 million mt/year to 15.5 million mt/year (310,000 b/d) sometime in May.

Rosneft, Oil India, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroresources signed a Heads of agreement in respect to the acquisition by a group of Indian investors of a 23,9% share in Vankroneft. The document envisages the possible execution of legally binding documents with regard to the sale and purchase transaction.

Government said on Thursday it hoped to unlock gas and oil resources worth almost $40 billion by simplifying licensing rules and offering price incentives to recover gas from difficult offshore fields.

Indian oil demand, meanwhile, grew by 300,000 b/d last year after rising by 100,000-150,000 b/d/year in the previous decade.

Iran is working to regain market share after sanctions relief and exports had already risen by 500,000 bpd in February, Mohsen Ghamsari, director of international affairs at National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC), told Reuters on Tuesday.

China and India's combined share of world oil consumption has tripled since 1990 to over 16 percent, nearing the U.S. share of roughly 20 percent, cementing their status as the main center of global demand growth.

India's oil imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq hit the highest in more than a decade last month as OPEC's top producers gained at the expense of Latin American crudes, a validation of the OPEC policy of maintaining output and fighting for market share.

Modi and Putin hailed what they termed a “strategic partnership” at their Kremlin meeting on Thursday and pledged to boost business ties, with the Indian leader signaling progress on defense projects to ensure his country upgrades its weapons capability.

The deal, which could be worth around $1 billion based on the valuation of a recent stake purchase, is expected to take final shape during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow next week for summit talks with President Vladimir Putin, said the sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Iran has agreed a $3 billion contract with a consortium of Indian companies to develop the Farzad B gas field in the Persian Gulf, according to the Mehr news agency. The managing director of ONGC Videsh, the Indian company heading the partnership, said they had not yet been notified about the development.