Moily wants reassessment of India's oil and gas potential

NEW DELHI: Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has constituted a team of experts, which will reassess potential oil and gas reserves in the country’s 26 prospective basins spread in 3.14 million square kilometers.

"With the increase in exploration spread and quantum jump in availability of geo-scientific data generated under Nelp (new exploration licensing policy) there is a need to revisit the hydrocarbon resource assessment of India," an oil ministry statement said.

The exercise to re-estimate potential oil and gas resources is undertaken after two decades. "The last such exercise was carried out in 15 sedimentary basins, approximately two decades ago and is overdue for full scale revision in view of the vast amount of data collected since then," it said. The exercise will also cover the 11 new basins for which the country has no reserve estimates, it added.

The team will submit its report in 30 months, it said. ONGC’s Keshav Dev Malviya Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Dehradun, will lead the effort. The team will be answerable to a national committee headed by the oil secretary. The team will also include senior executives of state-run ONGC and Oil India.

The institute and state explorers will provide necessary manpower, required to undertake the reassessment exercise. The expenditure for the exercise will be borne by the institute, which will be reimbursed by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons.