Roadmap in progress to achieve self-sufficiency in oil by 2030

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M Veerappa Moily said the Vijay Kelkar committee appointed by the government is preparing the roadmap to make India self sufficient in oil and natural gas by 2030.

"Be it our government or that of the National Democratic Alliance, the roadmap would be in place by the desired time," he said.

By 2020, the dependence on imported oil will be reduced by 50 per cent and 75 per cent by 2025 and achieve self-sufficiency by 2030, he said at the weekend.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 5-kg cylinder in Bangalore this evening, he said the petroleum ministry has already started work on exploring new oil and gas deposits at various places in the country including the Cauvery basin and west coast besides the desert in Rajasthan.

"We have huge deposits of oil and gas in the country. But we need more private sector players to come forward and invest in new oil and gas exploration blocks," he said.

"It costs Rs 7 crore to dig a well and not many are ready to invest in the sector."

The Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited has commenced work on the 9-million tonne per annum refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan, expected to be ready in the next three years.

However, the capacity will be further increased to 15-million tonnes per annum by the time it is completed.

Moily added that the refinery will use the domestic crude found in Rajasthan's deserts.

The announcement of making India oil and gas self-sufficient comes soon after the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched two pilot projects to help domestic LPG customers to switch their gas supplier and also buy 5-kg cylinders at market price with minimal documentation.

The Inter Company LPG Portability Scheme has been launched in 24 cities on a pilot basis and will be rolled out over the country over a period of three months.

The scheme has been launched in 11 outlets across Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

The sale of 5-kg cylinders (equipment and product) will be at non-domestic rates, with or without a regulator for the first time, by charging Rs 1,000 plus applicable taxes for the cylinder and Rs 250 plus applicable taxes for the regulator.

The cost of product and refills will be according to non-domestic rates applicable in the market.

Each 5-kg cylinder will cost Rs 492 in Bangalore for the month of October.

Currently, an LPG consumer is attached to a distributor and cannot change his distributor even if he is unhappy with the service of the distributor or the oil marketing company (OMC).

Under the Inter Company LPG Portability Scheme, a consumer can now opt for the distributor of his choice within a cluster of LPG distributors in the vicinity and across the oil companies.