Question : USE OF SURPLUS INFRASTRUCTURE

(a) whether both the public sector and private sector companies operating in the Krishna Godavari (KG) D6 basin have decided to use the surplus infrastructure for their deepwater discoveries in nearby blocks as the Ministry of Defence has forbidden construction of permanent structures in the region;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the impact of objections raised by the Ministry of Defence for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) which has been granted extension upto December, 2013 to conduct appraisals in its KG deepwater block ?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRIMATI PANABAAKA LAKSHMI)

(a) & (b) So far, no proposal has been received from the Contractors of deepwater blocks in Krishna Godavari (KG) basin for using any available surplus infrastructure in this area for developing deepwater discoveries made under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime.

(c) Ministry of Defence has accorded conditional clearance in respect of deepwater block KG-DWN-98/2 in KG basin, operated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in which Government has extended the exploration period till 29.12.2013 for drilling appraisal wells.