Government forms joint working group to increase oil and gas production

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has constituted a Joint Working Group (JWG) with officials from the E&P sector, national oil companies and the government to increase oil and gas production as well as attract investments.

Speaking at the first edition of Energy Dialogue 2024 on Thursday, Oil Minister HS Puri said, “I am happy to announce the formation of the JWG, comprising representatives from private E&P operators, national oil companies, MOPNG and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons . DGH).”

“It will examine issues related to ease of doing business in exploration and production (E&P), adequacy of policies and procedures and the need for their revision. It will submit its recommendations within eight weeks,” he said.

undiscovered possibilities

The Minister emphasized that the E&P sector is integral in the country’s journey towards energy self-reliance, which is critical for sustained economic growth. E&P provides investment opportunities worth $100 billion by 2030.

“Despite our substantial progress, much of our exploration and production potential is still untapped in India’s 26 sedimentary basins. I find it strange that India is so dependent on oil imports even though we have abundant geological resources,” he said.

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About 651.8 million tonnes (MT) of crude oil and 1138.6 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas are present in the country’s sedimentary basins.

“Today only 10 percent of our sedimentary basin area is under exploration. After the block is awarded under the upcoming OALP round, this will increase to 16 percent by the end of 2024. Although this is progress, it is not enough. Our exploratory efforts should be focused on discovering ‘yet to be discovered’ resources,” Puri said.

increase capacity

The oil minister of the world’s third-largest crude oil and fourth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer stressed that the government is playing its role to catalyze investments in E&P.

“We intend to increase India’s exploration area to 10 lakh sq km by 2030. ‘No-go’ areas in India’s EEZ have been reduced by about 99 per cent. The Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) has given impetus to production growth. Through the first 8 bidding rounds, a total of 144 blocks covering approximately 244,007 sq km have been allocated,” he said.

The recently announced OALP IX round offers an area of ​​approximately 136,596 sq km spread across 8 sedimentary basins, with a vision to expand the country’s footprint in offshore exploration.

“Since its inception in 2015, the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) policy has attracted investments of approximately $2 billion and brought 29 new players into the sector. The recent special DSF bid round presents new opportunities in Mumbai Offshore and West Bengal,” Puri told the audience.

The opening up of previously restricted areas has paved the way for exploration activities in previously restricted areas, boosting investment, especially in areas like the Andamans.

“The government is spending heavily on promoting scientific data-driven exploration. ₹7,500 crore is being invested in the acquisition of new seismic data, funding of stratigraphic wells and acquiring aerial survey data for difficult terrain, including in the EEZ,” he said.

“We now have geological data for the Kerala-Konkan Basin and Mumbai Offshore Basin on the west coast and the Mahanadi and Andaman Basin on the east coast,” Puri said.

DGH is also upgrading the national data repository to a cloud-based NDR, which will enable quick dissemination of seismic, well and production data. Work order will be given within 1 month.

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