New Delhi, Oct. 1 -- The government has proposed decriminalising routine licence-related violations under the Petroleum Act, 1934, while introducing higher penalties for unauthorised operations, damage to petroleum facilities and other serious offences.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) on Wednesday released the draft Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2026, for public consultation, inviting comments until October 30.

Licence Breaches To Attract Civil Penalties

The draft proposes replacing the existing Section 23 with separate provisions for regulatory violations and serious offences.

Under proposed Section 23C, breaches of licence conditions would attract civil penalties of up to Rs 2.5 crore for the first violation and Rs 5...