Pradhan said India’s focus will be on four pillars, based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goals:
- Providing affordable energy to consumers by developing oil infrastructure and expanding the natural gas grid network.
- Achieving energy sufficiency by increasing capital investment in rails and waterways.
- Achieving energy sustainability with increased production of renewable energy and cleaner fuels.
- Achieving energy security through increased upstream production and overseas acquisitions.
Pradhan said the government is also contemplating a policy for enhancing production of mature fields currently being operated by national oil companies. It hopes to encourage partners to bring in state-of-the-art exploration and production technologies.
The latest bidding round is being unveiled with much fanfare at CERAWeek as part of India’s new Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy. India is hosting a major dinner where a number of officials will speak.
The new program follows on the bidding of the Discovered Small Fields, which Pradhan had brought to Houston in a roadshow last July. He said that went well with 31 of 46 contract areas being allocated even with low oil prices.
“We are looking at investments in technology given that we are present here in Houston, a city known for its capital intensive and technical know-how,” he said in prepared remarks.
