Besides looking to commercial gains, the Indian oil [Get Quote] companies are hunting for oil fields abroad to counter increasing energy needs of the country.

The country is thirstier to have energy, but no sources to fulfill its needs completely. The public sector oil companies like ONGC [Get Quote] and Indian Oil Corp had already invested abroad. ONGC has invested Rs 30,855 crore (Rs 308.55 billion), while Indian Oil Corporation has invested Rs 523 crore (Rs 5.23 billion) in foreign oil companies.

"Besides commercial benefits to the oil companies, equity oil abroad also provides national energy security. While in normal circumstances oil or gas could be sold commercially, in times of national requirement, it can be brought to India," said the petroleum ministry.

Almost 35 oil companies and gas fields were occupied by the public oil companies in twenty countries.

In addition to public players, the private oil companies of the country have found source abroad. Reliance Industries [Get Quote] has 11 oil blocks and Essar has got six blocks abroad.

India is competing mainly with China to acquire oil assets in many regions such as Latin America, Central Asia and Africa. Last year India's attempts to secure long term gas from Burma suffered a setback, when the latter decided to sell gas to China instead. In Africa, China enjoys a first mover advantage but India has also started making inroads.

In the next two decades, India's oil consumption is expected to grow at a rate of 5.5 per cent per year. Therefore, it is strategically important for India to secure access to oil.