Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dr. M Veerapa Moily has approved the new policy for geo-scientific data generation for hydrocarbons in Indian sedimentary basins with view to accelerate acquisition of geo-scientific data in respect of all the sedimentary basins of the country.
This will further accelerate Exploration and Production (E and P) operations.
Under the policy, permission for conducting Geo Scientific data survey will be granted by way of a non-exclusive multi-client survey agreement. This policy replaces the earlier model of profit sharing after cost recovery with a one- time project fee.
Directorate General of Hydrocarbons will administer this Policy on behalf of the Government of India(GOI). Government of India will continue to be the owner of the data acquired under this Policy. The service provider shall complete the survey within a period of two years.
The agreement with the service provider shall remain valid for a period of 12 years from the effective date during which period the service provider will be free to license the data to prospective E and P companies.
The project fees will be USD 10,000 for the Survey Period of two years. The survey period can be extended for maximum 12 months by paying 60 percent of the project fees or pro rata thereof. A data delivery bank guarantee of USD 100,000 will have to be provided by the service provider to the DGH.
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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched the new Policy in view of the requirement for generation of geo scientific data to support Exploration and Production activities and to make the speculative survey model more attractive and easier to implement.
A significant part of the Indian sedimentary basin is now available for exploration. Inviting private investors for exploration is handicapped by the non- availability of data and hence the need to acquire geo-scientific data in respect of all the sedimentary basins so as to accelerate Exploration and Production (E and P) operations.
The new Policy for Geo-scientific Data Generation for Hydrocarbons in the country will be a cornerstone for promoting E and P activities.
The Government hopes to achieve greater energy security through enhanced exploration and production through this policy.This model will enable generation of high quality geo-scientific data in a speedy manner with Government ownership of data and also encourage deployment of advanced/proprietary technologies.