Pradhan meets potential oil investors in Singapore (Lead, changing dateline)

Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan arrived here on Friday on the first leg of his six-day, two-nation visit to lead the country's road shows to attract foreign investors in exploiting its discovered small oil and gas fields.

"Addressed road show on small discovered blocks in Singapore. About 200 delegates and potential investors participated in it," Pradhan tweeted, on what was his first engagement in the two-country visit, which will next take him to the UK.

"Singapore is a global hub for trading of petroleum, petrochemical products and oil service equipments. There can be good synergy between the two countries. It is also a major financial centre in Asia from where FDI and foreign equity investors can invest in Indian oil and gas sector."

The bidding for discovered small fields had been announced by India in July 2016 in Houston. Following that, 67 such fields are on the block, an official statement said. The process is open till end-October.

"These fields are spread over nine sedimentary basins and will be offered in 46 contract areas. These fields are projected to yield 625 million barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas and spread over 1,500 sq km on land, shallow water and deep water areas."

The auction is also being held under new norms, which replaces the controversial production-sharing contracts -- by which oil and gas blocks are awarded to firms which show they will do maximum work on a block -- that has governed the bidding under the earlier nine rounds.

Eventual operators will be issued a single licence for exploration of conventional and non-conventional hydrocarbons and will have the freedom to sell oil and gas at "arms length" market prices. There would be no cess on crude oil.

--IANS

ap/vm