Petrotech 2003
An investment of over Rs 170,000 crore was envisaged for the development of the oil and gas sector during the Tenth Plan, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said today.
Naik, who was delivering the inaugural address at Petrotech 2003, said against the backdrop of the increasing supply-demand gap, there was a need to boost the domestic oil and natural gas production, increase the refining and pipeline capacities, and expand the marketing infrastructure to help sustain the momentum of economic growth.
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Lauding the recent gas discovery by Reliance Industries Ltd in the Krishna-Godavari basin, the minister said such discoveries were a measure of the success of the new exploration licensing policy (NELP) of the government.
Naik said India's participation in oil equity overseas, especially ONGC Videsh Ltd's $740 million Sudan deal, would boost the country's efforts to achieve energy security.
"In the first week of April, the government will announce the fourth round of NELP and the second round of coal bed methane blocks," he said.
Naik said the government was planning to set up the petroleum regulatory board in order to ensure a level playing field among the various players in the downstream sector. The board would regulate the refining, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, ad marketing and sale of crude and petroleum products among other things, he added.
The minister said the government had announced a common carrier principle policy for product pipelines, under which the right of way would be granted to any entity interested in setting up a product pipeline if it assured an excess capacity of 25 per cent beyond the committed volumes.
He stressed international co-operation for the acquisition and integration of new technologies in the petroleum industry in order to raise the quantum of domestic supplies.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant said the restructuring and disinvestment of oil PSUs should be done on a "selective basis" to achieve the 8 per cent growth target set for the Tenth Plan.
Addressing Petrotech 2003, Pant said the Tenth Plan laid down the priorities for the development and consolidation of the oil and gas industry. Some of the important measures in that regard included the restructuring and disinvestment of PSUs on a selective basis, he added.
Pant also called for the creation of an apex committee on energy to manage the trade-off between the divergent objective that could arise between the different sub-sectors.