Page 29 - Plastics News March 2017

Government Initiatives

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote oil and gas sector are:

• The Ministry of Mines plans to restart operations in freedom for new gas production, grant of extension
several hundred mines across the country in order to to the Production Sharing Contracts and assigning
raise the share of mining and quarrying industry in the Ratna offshore field award to Oil and Natural Gas
India’s Gross Value Addition (GVA) by one percentage Corporation (oNGC) for development.
point from 2.4 per cent at present, over the next • Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent
two-to-three years. Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas has released
• The Union Cabinet has approved the National Mineral the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East India, with
Exploration Policy (NMEP), which will pave the way for the objective of leveraging the north-eastern region’s
auction of 100 prospective mineral blocks to attract hydrocarbon potential; enhance access to clean fuels,
private sector in exploration, besides involving state- improve availability of petroleum products, and
run agencies. facilitate economic development and to involve local
• Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for population in the economic activities in this sector.
Petroleum and Natural Gas and Mr Prakash Javadekar, • The Government of India plans to incentivise gas
Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate production from deep-water, ultra deep-water and
Change have launched a pilot programme, aimed at high pressure-high temperature areas which are
introducing compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel for presently not exploited on account of higher cost and
two-wheelers. risk, and also to augment the investment in nuclear
• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is seeking power generation in the next 15 to 20 years.
to enhance India's crude oil refining capacity through • The Government of India is in the process of identifying
2040 by setting up a high-level panel, which will work at least 50 potential blocks of 100 sq km and above to
towards aligning India's energy portfolio with changing be given to companies for bringing private investment
trends and transition towards cleaner sources of in the mineral exploration sector. The Ministry of
energy generation. Petroleum and Natural Gas has put up for comments
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) a draft policy, to opt for revenue-sharing model while
plans to launch an integrated bio energy mission with auctioning future oil and gas blocks for exploration to
an investment of Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.49 billion) private companies, compared to production-sharing
from FY 2017-18 to FY 2021-22, aimed at enhancing mode earlier, in order to make the process more
the use of bio-fuels like ethanol and biogas and transparent and market-oriented.
reducing consumption of fossil fuels. • The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has

• The Hydrocarbon Sector Skill Council (HSSC), which announced a new 'Marginal Fields Policy', which
was set up by the Government of India under its Skill aims to bring into production 69 marginal oil and
India initiative, plans to train over 1.9 million people gas fields with 89 million tonnes or Rs 75,000 crore
in the oil and gas sector over the next 10 years, to (US$ 11.18 billion) worth of reserves, by offering
cater to the rising skill needs of the industry. various incentives to oil and gas explorers such as
exemption from payment of oil cess and customs duty
• The Union Cabinet has allowed state-owned oil firms
to evolve their own crude oil import policies which on machinery and equipment.
involve freedom to choose source companies as well • Government of India entered into bilateral discussion
as pricing for their crude oil imports, thus allowing with Norway to extend co-operation between the
them to compete in the market effectively. two countries in the field of oil and natural gas and
hydrocarbon exploration.
• In a major drive to enhance the petroleum and
hydrocarbon sector, Government of India has • T o strengthen the country`s energy security, oil diplomacy
introduced initiatives like the Hydrocarbon Exploration initiatives have been intensified through meaningful
Licensing Policy (HELP), Marketing and Pricing engagements with hydrocarbon rich countries.

29 March 2017 | Plastics News