The Hindu : Business : Huge investments expected in oil, gas bidding: Murli Deora

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Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006

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Business

Huge investments expected in oil, gas bidding: Murli Deora

Special Correspondent

55 blocks offered under the sixth round are expected to be snapped up by bidders

Sale of data may fetch Rs. 100 crore Bids for CBM round on June 3 and those of NELP-VI on September 15

— Photo: Kamal Narang

OPTIMISTIC: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Murli Deora (left), with Secretary, M. S. Srinivasan, addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: The Union Government expects over $7 billion investment to flow into the country within the next two years through the latest round of bidding for oil and gas exploration blocks.

Disclosing this here on Tuesday, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said all the 55 blocks offered under the sixth round of the new exploration licensing policy (NELP-VI) wee expected to be "snapped up'' by bidders.

The Minister, who will be meeting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram next week, is expected to discuss a package to provide relief to public sector oil companies, facing serious cash losses owing to soaring world oil prices. He said no conclusion had been reached in the last meeting and the talks would resume next week.

Speaking to newspersons on his return from a series of high profile road shows abroad for NELP-VI as well for coal bed methane (CBM) blocks, he said investments in this round would be substantially higher than the $2 billion investment expected in the previous one. He said data worth Rs. 40 crore had already been sold to international oil companies. It was expected that Rs. 100 crore would be earned merely on sale of data.

Mr. Deora said the positive response from bidders was evident from the sale of data. The bids for the CBM round would be received by June 30 and those of the NELP-VI by September 15.

Officials said 20 million cubic metres of gas would be expected from next year from coal bed methane blocks, which was 3.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent. They said the first round of NELP would commence production from 2007. Reserves of 650 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas had been established over the last five years, it was stated.

Mr. Deora said a proposal for setting up a coal bed methane regulatory body was being considered and a meeting on the issue would be held soon with the authorities concerned.

Besides, he said, the Petroleum Ministry was expected to finalise the rules and regulations for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board within a month.

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