The Hindu : Efforts to expand oil and gas exploration

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 08, 2003

Business

Business

Efforts to expand oil and gas exploration

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI FEB. 7. The Petroleum Minister, Ram Naik, today declared that efforts to accelerate and expand oil and gas exploration had begun yielding results with an investment of about $338.93 million (Rs. 1,625 crores) having been made till September last year under the new exploration licensing policy (NELP-I).

This is higher than the earlier estimated expenditure of $250 million (Rs. 1,625 crores) for NELP-I.

In the second and third phase optional work programme, he said expenditure was estimated to reach $913 million (Rs. 4,380 crores).

Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry, Mr. Naik said in the case of NELP-II, an investment of $77 million had already been made till September 2002 as against $290 million expenditure committed for phase I of the work programme.

The Government had so far awarded 24 oil and gas blocks for exploration in the first round of competitive bidding under NELP. Another 23 blocks were awarded in NELP-II in 2001 while 23 blocks were awarded under NELP-III.

The Minister noted that the estimated investment in the three rounds of NELP was about Rs. 14,500 crores including an investment of over Rs. 5,000 crores under NELP-III.

Besides, another Rs. 250-crore investment was envisaged in eight coal bed methane (CBM) blocks that were likely to produce 13 million standard cubic metres per day of natural gas by 2005, he said.

Mr. Naik said the recent discoveries along with acquisition of oil equity abroad would go a long way in securing energy security for the nation. In this context, he pointed out that ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) had acquired equity in oil and gas fields in Russia, Libya, Vietnam, the U.S., Iran, Syria, Myanmar, Iraq and Sudan while negotiations were on for taking stake in fields in Venezuela, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Indonesia.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business