The Hindu : Business : Gas availability to go up by 40 p.c.

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Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
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Gas availability to go up by 40 p.c.

Special Correspondent

International agency appointed to market NELP blocks, says Murli Deora

Two NELP blocks in Gujarat have entered production phase
New type of block introduced to attract
small investors

NEW DELHI: Stating that things were looking up on the oil and gas front, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Murli Deora, on Friday said that with the commencement of natural gas production from mid-2008, the domestic availability of gas would go up by nearly 40 per cent benefiting various sectors, including power.

Mr. Deora said under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) regime, natural gas production in the Krishna-Godavari basin was likely to commence from July next year at the rate of 40 million cubic metres a day (mcmd) with peak production of 80 mcmd. This would go a long way in meeting the rising demand for natural gas in the domestic market. Interestingly, Mr. Deora said that two NELP blocks in Gujarat have entered the production phase having natural gas of three lakh cubic metres a day and 750 barrels of crude oil a day.

Stating that exploration work was progressing well in the NELP blocks and new oil and gas discoveries are being reported, Mr. Deora said under NELP, 49 oil and gas discoveries had already been made in 15 exploration blocks. Hydrocarbon reserves accretion had already been more than 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent. He said based on the past experience and inputs from E&P companies, a new type of block, called Type-S, covering small area up to 200 km had been introduced to attract small investors for exploration by providing special dispensation in the form of waiver of technical capability criteria. He said transparency under NELP had reached such a level that bidders themselves would be able to know after submitting their bids whether they were winning or losing the blocks. “We have appointed an international agency to market the blocks and we will be taking all necessary measures to make this round a success,” he added.

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