India has 30 billion tonne of unexplored hydrocarbon reserves, petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said today while inviting international firms to explore oil and gas in a completely free, transparent and business-friendly environment."We are no longer a hydrocarbon-poor country. After the recent spate of oil and gas discoveries, we are transiting from having nothing to having something. We have a hydrocarbon resource base of 30 billion tonne or 225 billion barrel of oil and oil equivalent gas waiting to be discovered," he said at a CII conference today.After Reliance struck large gas fields in two blocks in the Bay of Bengal and Cairn Energy made a significant oil find in the deserts of Rajasthan, ONGC has also made a huge gas find in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra coast, Aiyar said."The offshore Cauvery, Krishna-Godavari and Mahanadi basins in Bay of Bengal hold huge promise. On the west coast, the Kerala-Konkan basin holds promise," he added.India has offered 100% FDI in oil and gas exploration and production, transparent and stable policy regime, single window clearance and best international practice, Aiyar said, adding 20 oil and gas blocks have been put on auction in the fifth round of bidding under the new exploration licensing policy.
