Why is India’s oil output falling consistently?

In fiscal year FY22, India’s crude oil output fell 2.67% to about 29.69 million tonnes compared to 30.5 MT in FY21. The figure was 11.7% below the annual target of 33.61 MT. Crude output peaked at 35.7 MT in FY18, and has been falling ever since then. The main reason for the fall in output is aging fields, especially the lucrative Bombay High. Natural production decline has set in with recovery rate boosted only by technology investments.