India forms committee for cooperation with Iranian hydrocarbons sector

Indian oil minister Ram Naik has formed a high-level steering committee to provide a momentum to his country's cooperation with Iran in the hydrocarbons sector, specifically the action points finalized during his visit to Tehran earlier this month. The committee would be headed by a secretary from the oil ministry, and include a representative each from the Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Its members include the managing directors of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India Ltd (OIL), Indian Oil Corp (IOC), and Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL). "The committee would review every month the progress made on various action points including import of 5-mm tons of LNG from Iran and obtaining interests in discovered as well as semi-discovered oil and gas fields by Indian public sector companies like OVL [ONGC Videsh Ltd]," the PIB said.

During Naik's visit to Tehran May 11-13, India and Iran agreed in principle to formulate a package for India to import, in phases, 5-mm tpy of LNG from Iran. The two countries in January this year had set up an Indo-Iran Joint Working Group. The group decided that the import of LNG by India and the acquisition of interests in discovered fields in Iran would be developed into a composite cooperation package with a milestone-based timetable.
As per the agreed minutes signed on the last day of the JWG meeting, the possibility of LNG import and acquisition of interest in discovered fields would be firmed up within six months and a gas sale and purchase agreement signed within the next nine months, the PIB noted. The project would be completed within four years of the signing of GSPA.

The two countries also agreed for extension of the technical consultancy service by GAIL in development of a compressed natural gas network for supply to vehicles in Tehran. GAIL has experience supplying CNG to about 70,000 vehicles in the capital New Delhi.
The two countries are to also identify projects for Indian participation in the petrochemical industry of Iran and in upgrading oil refineries in Iran.