By Various Sources
On March 14, 2016 - The Minister
of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan informed
the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) in a written reply that the targets as fixed by upstream
Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) of oil and gas sector and
actual achievements in production of crude oil and natural gas during the
Twelfth Plan period is as under:
The lower production of crude oil
in the country is attributed to various reasons, including inter-alia, decline
in production from the major producing fields of the country, particularly in
Western offshore and onshore fields in Gujarat and North-Eastern region, which
are quite old and aging, no major discoveries made in the recent
past and challenges experienced in development of marginal and deep water
fields in transfer of technology, logistics, isolated structures and viability
thereof. Some of the important factors responsible for shortfall in production
of natural gas are sharp decline in production in KG deep-water block operated
by RIL, natural decline in major gas producing fields like Bassein and M&S
Tapti, delay in commencement of production from eastern offshore fields, fire
incident in Tatipaka gas pipeline of GAIL and lower gas upliftment by
consumers, particularly in Tripura, Assam and Cauvery basin.
Production
targets are being regularly monitored, both by Government and CPSEs. Some of the
important measures taken by the CPSEs to achieve the targets fixed for the
production of crude oil and natural gas include inter-alia, implementation of
various enhanced oil recovery / improved oil recovery schemes, field
re-development projects, development of marginal fields on cluster concept,
monetization of small and marginal discoveries in onshore areas through service
contracts or outsourcing, expeditious development of new discoveries,
developing new and marginal fields on fast track, use of modern technology for
maximizing production from mature fields and enhancing well productivity,
prioritization of wells with high potential and drilling campaigns for
non-associated gas.
Dharmendra Pradhan, also said, the new hydrocarbon exploration and licensing policy (HELP) and a liberalized gas price regime would help to reduce India's heavy dependence on imported energy over the next 10-15 years down the line.
Through HELP, India aims
to attract a $25bn-$30bn U.S. Dollars of investment in natural gas and crude oil sector in the next couple of years by deploying necessary surgical reforms to its exploration and production rules
announced last week.
Video Attribute: CNBC-TV18's
Rituparna Bhuyan speaks to the Petroleum minister, Dharmendra Pradhan about the
reforms in the Oil and Gas sector and also about the Hydrocarbon Exploration
and Licensing Policy (HELP).
Basing his
calculations on a crude oil price of $45 a barrel, he said the principal aim
was to increase domestic gas production at a time of rising demand and falling
output. "$40bn U.S. dollars of hydrocarbons will be unlocked for
production through this policy reform," he said in an interview. "To
realize this amount we are expecting investment of more than $25bn in the next
two to three years."
The
government had previously stated that country is expected to monetize unexploited gas reserves
of around 6.75tn cubic feet, worth more than $28bn, from existing and future
discoveries.Businesses
and industry analysts welcomed the changes, although some were skeptical given
the recent collapse of the oil price and a reluctance to expend capital on
high-cost projects.
With reporting by Press Information Bureau, Financial Times and CNBC