Positive outcomes of E&P policies take about a decade: Deepak Mahurkar

Deepak Mahurkar, leader oil & gas, PwC India, answers queries on what the oil and gas sector can expect from Budget 2015

What happens to NELP-IV? How do we go about the much hoped for increase in gas production?
- Ramachandra V Sakhadeo        
 

The government appears to be committed to making improvements in operations by debottlenecking decisions. The gas price decision and guidelines for obtaining approvals provided recently are also appearing to be in the direction of building operator confidence in doing business in India. The intent seems to enhance production in the already awarded acreages and in the pre-NELP blocks. The government is expected to now embark onto the next action of new acreage awards. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has announced the proposed acreages. The ongoing consultation with stakeholders may result into award policy changes post which the rounds may come out. As is inherent in the exploration and production sector, the positive outcomes of policies take about a decade and hence gas production increase as a result of the changes are expected at best in the medium term and more certainly in the long term.