Indian oil firms asked to double gas production in 5-years

Indian oil companies have been mandated to double their gas production in the next 5-years, a Central Government Minister said.
"They (oil companies) have been mandated to double their gas production in the next 5-years which would require extensive investment in processes and technologies," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Jitin Prasada, said. He was addressing the valedictory session of the SPE Oil & Gas India Conference & Exhibition.

Prasada said that the Government's thrust was on boosting availability of energy resources indigenously. Accordingly, the total sedimentary basin area to be brought under exploration coverage is targeted to be increased to 80 % during the current Five Year Plan period, he said.
"In addition to oil and gas exploration, India has initiated steps towards exploration of alternative sources of hydrocarbons like coal bed methane and underground coal gasification," the Minister said.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been offering oil and gas blocks on very attractive and transparent terms under various NELP rounds of bidding, Prasada said.
"Till now, these rounds of NELP have given a very rich dividend with a total of 73 oil and gas discoveries been made in 21 blocks, both onshore and offshore," he said. The success of deep water exploration in the Krishna-Godavari basin has given us the much-required confidence and a boost to further explore and develop deep water areas, he said.