India’s crude oil production is expected to grow by 10 per cent to 34 million tonnes (mt) in the next financial year, beginning April 2023, on the back of the government opening up the Exploration and Production (E&P) sector, Oil Minister HS Puri said on Friday.
At a promotional event ahead of the India Energy Week 2023, organised by Bharat Petroleum Corporation(BPCL), Puri said the government is overhauling the policy framework of the E&P sector by working on 4 pillars: Data acquisition and policy, acreage award, regulatory relations and contract facilitation, and investor outreach.
The India Energy Week 2023 is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from February 6-8.
Under special arrangements with the Indian Navy, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has been successful in reducing “no-go” areas by almost 99 per cent in April 2022, opening up 0.91 million sq km. Similar efforts are being made with the DRDO and the Department of Space so that hitherto unexplored areas can be prospected, he noted. “Due to these reforms, in the past year, India’s gas production has gone up by 18 per cent, from 28.7 billion cubic metres (BCM) in FY21 to 34 BCM in FY22, and is expected to grow further to 36 BCM in FY23. Our oil production has risen from 29.7 mt in FY22 to 30.8 mt in FY23 and is estimated to rise to 34 mt in FY24,” the Minister added.
Ethanol-blended fuel
The Minister emphasised that India achieved 10 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol in June 2022, well ahead of the November 2022 deadline and the E20 fuel has been rolled out in 11 States/UTs—Delhi, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, he added.
“The rollout in these States has been effective from December 15 against the initial target date of April 1, 2023. We are targeting a phased rollout of E20 in the entire country between now and April 2025,” he said.
This has resulted in not only augmenting the country’s energy security but also translating into forex savings of over ₹41,500 crore, reduced GHG emissions by 27 lakh tonnes and benefiting farmers with expeditious payments of over ₹40,600 crore in the last 8 years, Puri noted.