Vedanta to invest $2.3 bn to up oil and gas reserve base by 375 mn barrels

Vedanta Limited has said it will be investing $2.3 billion towards capex on its oil and gas activities in the 'near-term' to increase the reserve base by around 375 million barrels.

According to its latest annual report, Vedanta aims to increase production from the current 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to 300,000 boepd over the next few years.

"In the near-term, we are investing gross capex of $2.3 billion to increase our resource and reserve base by around 375 million barrels. Our rich project portfolio is comprised of enhanced oil recovery projects, tight oil and gas projects and exploration prospects.

As well as boosting production, this investment will generate sustainable employment opportunities, directly and indirectly and bring cutting edge solutions to community needs," the metals and mining giant said.

For FY2019, it expects to achieve a significant growth in production with total volumes in the range of 220-250 kboepd through executing growth projects, with opex of sub-$7/boe (Barrel of Equivalent).

"We estimate the net capex commitment at $600-800 million (for FY 19)," it said.

Kuldip Kaura, Chief Executive Officer of Vedanta, said the company's vision was to contribute 50 per cent of the countrys domestic crude oil production by increasing their gross production to 500,000 boepd.

"Working towards this goal, we announced growth projects, including Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), tight oil and gas projects, upgrade of liquid handling facilities and exploration, for which key contracts have been awarded to world-class partners.

These projects, along with an exit run rate of 200,000 boepd in March 2018, will pave the way to achieve 300,000 boepd in the near-term and 500,000 boepd in the medium-term," he said.

As the largest private sector producer of crude oil in India, and with a strong track record and growth pipeline in exploration and development, Vedanta is well positioned to benefit from the Governments desire to boost domestic production and to leverage Indias oil and gas resource potential, it said.

Vedanta had recently bid for all 55 blocks on offer in the first round of oil and gas auctions under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) auction.

The Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta is likely to bag as many as 40 oil and gas exploration blocks in India's maiden open acreage auction, official sources had earlier said.