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| Edited By: Shahkar Abidi |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 06, 2017, 07:15 AM IST
Interfering in the pricing of the commodity is the most anti-consumer step a government can take. Let the competition decide the price as in the open market.
Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of petroleum and natural gas recently during an interaction with media spoke at length on various issues concerning the exploration and production of oil and gas industry in India. The interaction happened during an industry event organised by Directorate General of Hydrocarbons in order to attract foreign investments in the sector. Below are the excerpts.
Over the past decades, the bid rounds conducted by the central government for auctioning oil and gas assets in India have received mixed responses from the industry. Further, there were serious concerns about the format of the bid process, as well as the time duration between consecutive bid rounds. In this regard, we have extended our support to investors by progressively eliminating irritants that have characterised past regimes and introduced greater flexibility for the contractors. Implementation of current policies are aligned to reduce regulatory burden and contractual rigidities in the earlier contract.
Out of the cumulative investments of $40 billion which is expected in petroleum and gas industry sector in the next four to five years, an investment of over $25.2 billion has already been committed so far under production sharing contract. Out of the committed investment, Field Development Planning (FDP) worth around $13.6 billion is already approved and investments worth $11.6 billion have declaration of commerciality. Further, around $100 million of investment is expected from development of 30 contract areas awarded under round I of Discovered small fields (DSF). Likewise, investment of about $300 million for development of 61 contract areas under round II of DSF. Under the Open Acreage License (OAL) policy, $5-6 billion in exploration activities and another $20-30 billion for development activities is expected.
A country-wide hydrocarbon resources re-assessment project has been undertaken for all sedimentary basins in a record time of two years. This exercise has been undertaken for the first time in the last two decades through the most modern reservoir modelling technology. The total hydrocarbon reassessed volumes estimated for 26 sedimentary basins and offshore areas is 41,872 million tonne of oil equivalent (MMTOE) as compared to the hydrocarbon resource of 28,085 MMTOE in 15 sedimentary basins assessed in earlier study undertaken in 1995-96. The study signifies a 49.1% increase in resource estimates with discovered hydrocarbon resources of 12,076 MMTOE and undiscovered hydrocarbon resource estimate of 29,796 MMTOE.
Should I answer this one? All right, let me put it this way. Can you hold on to the price of Jio. No one can. Similarly, interfering in the pricing of the commodity is the most anti-consumer step a government can take. Let the competition decide the price as in the open market. On the taxation part, the government will have a look at a time whenever there is a pinch, the way we did recently by reducing the excise duty. Some of the states including Maharashtra supported us on this. Further, we have been telling the states to allow it to be brought under the goods and services tax (GST), since it will be more fruitful in the long run as it drives consumption. But, we cannot impose it on the states and it can be done only when a consensus develops in the GST Council on this.
We will be pitching it to the government. I believe except for strategic and public consumption areas, rest all sectors should have access to gas at the same price. For that, we need transparent parameters and we will be giving shape to it. It will help us is meeting all our energy obligations. In the next two decades to come, the gas will be available in abundance and we want the people of the country to benefit out of it.
