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Press Release


Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India organizes a grand Interactive Session in Dubai:  India Event – Showcasing oil and gas sector opportunities

Dubai, May 14, 2018: Government of India with the objective to market the portfolio of high volume Oil and Gas assets of Indian Sedimentary basins, and to promote 9th City Gas Distribution (CGD) Bidding Round is undertaking extensive outreach programmes. In pursuit of the same Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) organized an interactive meet with Industry in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, an influential Oil and Gas hub. 
The delegation was led by Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, Officials of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and also comprised officials from Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).  

The event was held in Hotel Westin in Al Habtoor City, Dubai on 14th May 2018 and saw enthusiastic participation from leaders of National oil companies, private E&P companies, service providers, Financial Institutions, and wider industry arena totaling over 150 delegates from more than 120 companies.

The morning session highlighted the array of opportunities available in Indian E&P sector with the transformational Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) framework being at the forefront. The key highlight of the session was curtain raiser for Discovered Small Field Bid Round-II by Hon’ble Minister Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, DSF provides an easy entry option to new players who want to enter Indian upstream oil and gas sector with low/minimal risk.  
HELP is manifested through an innovative Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP), which allows investors to carve out block of their own choice for exploration and production. Investors can submit Expression of Interest with area of their own choice throughout the year with bidding round being held twice a year. Under OALP India has opened up ~2.8 Million Sq. Km. of area which is almost 90% of the total country’s total basinal area, to global investors for E&P activities.

The morning session commenced with an engaging film on HELP followed by an introductory address by Shri. Navdeep Singh Suri, Ambassador of India to UAE. Shri Diwakar Nath Misra, Joint Secretary, MoPNG spoke about the various E&P sector policies, which has provided new impetus to the sector. Shri Atanu Chakraborty, Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons delivered a presentation on Indian Exploration and Production sector busting the common myths about Indian E&P sector. He shared a glimpse of progressive Indian Economy with a focus on the upstream sector and also briefly touched upon how India is set for high and sustained growth in energy demand, in years to come. Ms. Neetu Vinayek, Partner KPMG delivered a presentation on Indian Taxation focused with the new GST Regime in place.

Hon’ble Minister, Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan, unveiled the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Bid Round – II. DSF Bid Round-II, offers 60 discoveries clubbed into 26 contract areas having established In-place volumes of over 1.4 billion barrels of oil & oil equivalent in commercially producing basins is on offer under this Bid Round. He then delivered a stimulating keynote address by highlighting the increasingly growing positive industry sentiments and signs of steadfast recovery of India’s O&G sector.

Hon’ble Minister and DG, DGH interacted with the key representatives of major Oil and Gas companies over the lunch. Post lunch an interactive roundtable conference was held with Financial Institutions and Oil and Gas majors to discuss on the alternate and innovative funding options for E&P companies especially for small explorers.

The second half of the day saw first international roadshow for promotion of 9th City Gas Distribution Bidding Round with the objective of maximising participation and creating awareness among investors. 

The 9th CGD bidding round is more widespread than before, offering 86 Geographical Areas (GA) covering 156 Districts and 18 part districts. The move will enable greater access to vast untapped areas in Eastern and Southern India to help achieve the challenging goal. The existing CGD Network constitutes 17% (25 MMSCMD of 145 MMSCMD) of India’s Gas supply. With implementation of new GAs, CGD Volumes can increase from 25 MMSCMD to 50 MMSCMD by FY25.

This bidding round stands apart for introducing a large number of new features. One of the major facilitating steps include marketing exclusivity of Gas from 5 years to 8 years, with provision of further extension of 2 years. In line with the principles of greater economy of resources and improving transparency in the bid process, this round would be conducted through electronic submission of bids along with a shift in bidding parameters to focus on end results in order to attract serious bidders and encourage healthy competition.The bidding would close on 10thJuly, 2018 and PNGRB intends to finalise the award by October, 2018.

This amounts to a giant leap by the PNGRB towards improving the share of the country in the global gas mix which will shine India’s image in the efforts towards dealing with the current energy challenges derived largely out of dependence on non-renewable and unclean energy resources. India’s current share of Gas in the Energy mix stands at 6.2%, which is below the World Average of 24%. The target is to increase the share of Gas to 15% thereby creating a Gas based economy.