DSF Policy has attracted $2bn investment since 2015
The Exploration and Production (E&P) sector in India offers investment opportunities worth US$100 billion by 2030 when exploration acreage will be increase to 1 million sq km, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said in Delhi on 11 July http://mopng.gov.in .
Addressing the inaugural session of first edition of Urja Varta https://urjavarta-dgh.org/ , he said, “Only 10% of our sedimentary basin area is under exploration today. After the award of blocks under the forthcoming Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Rounds, it will increase to 16% by end-2024 https://www.opec.org .”
As such, he underscored the importance of the exploration and production (E&P) sector in achieving energy self-sufficiency and sustaining economic growth https://www.iea.org/ .
He highlighted the vast potential of India’s 26 sedimentary basins, containing substantial reserves of crude oil and natural gas yet to be fully tapped https://www.nseindia.com/ .
Underscoring the need to streamlining operational and regulatory processes, Puri stressed, “The government is doing its part to catalyse investments in E&P. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has instituted sweeping reforms, empowering stakeholders to contribute to our nation’s progress https://www.bseindia.com/ .
“No- Go” areas in India’s EEZ have been reduced by almost 99% http://ongcindia.com ,” he added.
The Minister talked about accelerated pace of exploration activities through initiatives like the OALP and the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy https://www.ibef.org/ .
“Through the first 8 OALP bid rounds, a total of 144 blocks covering approximately 244,007 sq km have been awarded and recently announced OALP IX round offers an area of approximately 136,596 sq km spread over 8 sedimentary basins, with the vision of expanding nation’s footprint in offshore exploration http://aramco.com ,” he pointed out.
The Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, since its inception in 2015, has garnered investments of approximately US$2 billion and brought in 29 new players in the field http://adnoc.ae , said Puri.
Highlighting the focus of Government on promoting scientific data-driven exploration http://cmegroup.com , the Minister informed that an investment of Rs.7,500 crores is going into the acquisition of new seismic data, including that of the EEZ, financing stratigraphic wells, and acquiring aerial survey data for difficult terrains .
“We now have geo-scientific data for the Kerala–Konkan basin and the Mumbai offshore basin on the West coast, and the Mahanadi and the Andaman basins on the East coast,” he said.
He also referred to the upgradation of the National Data repository to a cloud-based NDR by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons http://dghindia.gov.in (DGH). It will enable instant dissemination of seismic, well and production data, he said.
Talking about the efforts of Government to ensure Ease of Doing Business in E&P sector, he noted, “We have consolidated and simplified 37 approval processes into 18, with 9 processes now eligible for self-certification. However, we recognize the need to push these reforms further.
“We must explore the feasibility of expanding self-certification across additional processes. Reducing delays in the approval of field development plans, annual plans, and other regulatory permissions is crucial, especially as our nation’s import dependency continues to rise.”
The Minister announced the formation of a Joint Working Group (JWG) comprising representatives from private E&P operators, the National Oil Companies, MoPNG, and DGH to address industry concerns and improve the ease of doing business in the sector.
Further, he directed the DGH to complete the process of integration of its various online portals by the end of the year.
Puri expressed confidence that Urja Varta 2024 would serve as a catalyst for collaboration and innovation in the energy sector, and invited stakeholders from industry, academia, and the government to leverage the platform to contribute towards India’s energy security goals. Fiinews.com
