Question : Oil Exploration in India

(a) the total quantum of crude oil available in the country vis-a-vis and total quantum of crude oil imported in the year, 2019;
(b) the quantum of crude oil being produced in the country against the quantum of requirement during the last three years;
(c) the number of domestic and foreign companies involved in oil exploration in India;
(d) the total amount of crude oil extracted from wells drilled during the last five years; and
(e) whether the Government is working out any plan to explore new reserves of crude oil to enhance the production and if so, the details thereof?

Answer given by the minister

THE MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) Crude oil available during the 2018-19 was 260.7 MMT in which 34.2 MMT produced and 226.5 MMT imported.
(b) Production of crude oil and consumption of oil based petroleum products for the last three years were:
Year
Production of Crude Oil (MMT)
Consumption of Oil’s Based Petroleum Products (MMT)
2016-17
36.01
194.60
2017-18
35.68
206.17
2018-19
34.20
213.22
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(c) Total 80 domestic and foreign companies are involved in oil exploration and production activities in India comprising 9 Public Sector Enterprises, 57 private companies and 14 foreign companies.
(d) The year wise details of the production of crude oil for the period 2014-15 to 2018-19 are given below:
Year
Production of Crude Oil (in MMT)
2014-15
37.46
2015-16
36.94
2016-17
36.01
2017-18
35.68
2018-19
34.20
(e) Government has taken several steps to enhance exploration & production of oil and gas in the country which include; Policy for Relaxations, Extensions and Clarifications under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime for early monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries, Discovered Small Field Policy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy, Policy for early monetization of Coal Bed Methane, Setting up of National Data Repository, Appraisal of Unappraised areas in Sedimentary Basins, Re-assessment of Hydrocarbon Resources, Policy framework to streamline the working of Production Sharing Contracts in Pre-NELP and NELP Blocks, Policy to Promote and Incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods for Oil and Gas, Policy framework for exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Hydrocarbons under existing Production Sharing Contracts, Coal Bed Methane contracts and Nomination fields.
The Government in February, 2019 approved major reforms in exploration and licensing policy to enhance exploration activities, attract domestic and foreign investment in unexplored/unallocated areas of sedimentary basins and accelerate domestic production of oil and gas from existing fields. The policy reforms inter-alia aim to boost exploration activities with greater weightage to work programme, simplified fiscal and contractual terms, bidding of exploration blocks under Category II and III sedimentary basins without any production or revenue sharing to Government, early monetization of discoveries by extending fiscal incentives, incentivizing gas production including marketing and pricing freedom, induction of latest technology and capital, more functional freedom to National Oil Companies for collaboration and private sector participation for production enhancement methods in nomination fields, streamlining approval processes and promoting ease of doing business including electronic single window mechanism.
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