Govt mulls new policy to boost investment in oil and gas sector

The Petroleum Ministry will hold a meeting with chief secretaries of all north east states to finalize a hydrocarbon vision for the region. The Dollar Business Bureau

One of the biggest challenges for the NE oil industry is to arrest the natural decline in production, which needs a state-of-the-art technology, says Ved Prakash Mahawar, Director (Onshore), ONGC Ltd

The government is working on a special policy which is expected to boost investment in the oil and gas sector in the northeastern part of the country, a top official of the Petroleum Ministry said. Keeping in view the challenges being faced by the oil and gas sector in the north east, the ministry will hold a consultative meeting with chief secretaries of all north east states to finalize a hydrocarbon vision for the region, said U P Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Chairman of Oil India Ltd. Addressing the CII North East Energy Summit in Delhi on Tuesday, Ved Prakash Mahawar, Director (Onshore), ONGC Ltd, said, “One of the biggest challenges for the NE oil industry is to arrest the natural decline in production, which needs a state-of-the-art technology.” He suggested technology companies to join hands with the oil producing firms in the region to explore investment opportunity. Citing the example of 726 MW ONGC power plant in Tripura and the region’s rubber processing potential, Mahawar said the industry needs more investments in the region. In spite of having huge potential, the oil and gas sector has been witnessing stagnation and the region’s oil production has come down from 4.84 MMT to 4.54 MTA between 2011 and 2015. Refineries are in fact now being fed from imported crude oil, said the official, adding, “This does not augur well with the overall vision of India to reduce oil import dependence from 77% currently to 66% by 2022 and half by 2030”. At present, the north east region contributes to 10% of the gas and 12% of the oil requirements of the country.

December 02, 2015 | 4:00pm IST

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Dec 02, 2015 10:37 IST

Govt mulls new policy to boost investment in oil and gas sector

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