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Government will soon offer 20 oil and gas exploration blocks in the fifth round of bidding under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-V) with a view to bring more areas under exploration and production of oil and gas expeditiously. NELP-V is expected to be launched in early January 2005. This was informed by the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar here last night while addressing the first meeting of the present Parliamentary Consultative Committee of his Ministry. This will include onland, shallow offshore and deepwater blocks. In the first four rounds of NELP bidding, Government has awarded 90 oil and gas blocks.
Shri Aiyar said during last six months, Reliance Industries Ltd has made gas discoveries in two blocks – one off the Andhra coast in consortium with NIKO Resources and other off North East Coast. Gujarat State Petroleum Corp has found oil in Gujarat while Cairn Energy of UK has made two more oil discoveries in Barmer District of Rajasthan. The discoveries are being appraised to assess reserves of oil and gas.
Besides intensifying exploration within the country, Shri Aiyar said India is also acquiring oil & gas properties abroad to cut dependence on imports and enhance self-reliance which is declined from 50% in 1980s to 30% currently. This is likely to go down further to 15% in next 10-15 years. He added India was eyeing oil properties in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Australia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Sudan and West Africa.
The Minister informed the members that in order to mobilise all our diplomatic experience and expertise to synchronise with our investments abroad, Government has formed an 11-member Standing Advisory Committee on Oil Diplomacy for Energy Security headed by economist Shri Arjun Sengupta. The Committee which held its first meeting on 16th November, 2004 comprises former diplomats and has been entrusted with the task of facilitating security of oil and gas properties in oil-rich countries, particularly in West Asia.
In a presentation, the members were informed that Flagship ONGC Videsh Ltd has acquired assets in Sudan, Australia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Libya, Ivory coast, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Russia, with an estimated investment of 3.5 billion dollars. In 2003-04, India got 3.345 million tonnes of crude oil from its stake in an oil field in Sudan and 0.523 billion cubic meters of gas from a Vietnam gas field. The government has revised the target for oil and gas from overseas fields. The country is now targetting 20 million tonnes of oil and gas by 2010 instead of 2020 previously decided. It was also pointed that as per International Energy Agency estimates, a 10 dollars per barrel increase in crude oil prices would result in one per cent loss in India’s GDP and 2.6 per cent increase in inflation in following year.
Following Members of Parliament attended the meeting: from Lok Sabha S/Shri Gurudas Kamath, Dr. Arvind Sharma, G.V. Harsha Kumar, J.S. Bishnoi, Dr. Arun Kumar Sharma, Baleswar Yadav, Suraj Singh, Hem Lal Murmu, Ramakant Yadav, Jaisingh Gaekawad Patel, B.P. Mehta, Rajen Gohain, Prof. Rassa Singh Rawat, K. Sambasiva Rao, Ram Kripal Yadav, B. Binod Kumar and Mrs. Paramjit Kaur Gulshan. From Rajya Sabha, S/Shri Nandi Yelliah, D.N. Sharmah, Prof. R.B.S. Varma, Prof. R.D. Bhandary, Veer Singh and Prof. (Ms.) Alka Balram Kshatriya.
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