Moily to soon give green signal to auction 54 NELP blocks

To give nod to major infra projects like Mahan coal block jointly developed by Essar and Hindalco

It may well be one of the first decisions by M Veerappa Moily as the environment minister. According to sources close to the development, Moily, who is also the petroleum minister, has already cleared the decks for clearance of 54 oil and gas blocks from environment ministry, to be put on the block for the upcoming round of NELP (new exploration licensing policy) auction.

The blocks only need clearance from the environment minister, as the petroleum ministry already had managed to get a nod from Forest Survey Institute. “Out of the total 74 blocks to be put on the block, the institute has already cleared 54 blocks.

Now, it only needs clearance from the environment minister,” said an official source close to the development.

Apart from this, Moily is likely to give nod to major infrastructure projects like Mahan coal block jointly developed by Essar and Hindalco, NHPC’s 800-Mw Tawang Hydro-electric Project and may also initiate steps to speed up the Rs 50,000-crore  steel project by South Korean major Posco in Odisha. Moily took charge of the ministry last week, after former minister Jayanthi Natarajan was hugely criticised by the ministry for holding up projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore.

Eyeing the next round of NELP, the petroleum ministry had already set up an expert committee to get initial defence and environment clearances in advance. The committee includes one ex-army man, an former-navy man and an former-forest official. The next round of NELP would be announced in January as part of the Indian petroleum industry’s showcase event Petrotech.

“Moily along with his team has been instrumental in clearing 57 oil and gas blocks through the Cabinet Committee of Investments. This is a feather on his cap, as from October 2010 to February 2013, no block had been cleared for exploration purposes. Tthese exploration blocks would translate into investments after five-six years. If there are major discoveries it would see at least $15 billion worth investments,” said a senior petroleum ministry official.

The 10th round of NELP would be the second highest offering of blocks since its inception in 1999. Of the blocks being considered for offering in NELP-X, 25 are deep-water, 20 shallow-water and 23 onland blocks. The government has, in the previous nine rounds, awarded 254 blocks for exploration of oil and gas.
SELLING GAS

• The 10th round of NELP would be the second highest offering of blocks since NELP’s advent in 1999
• Out of the total 74 blocks to be put on blocks for the next round of NELP, Forest Survey Institute has already cleared 54 blocks
• The government has, in the previous nine rounds, awarded 254 blocks for exploration of oil and gas
• Petroleum ministry had already set up an expert committee, including one ex-army man, an ex-navy man and an ex-forest official, to get initial defence and environment clearances in advance