Lok Sabha Question No. 3869 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-19
Subject: Bilateral Meeting with Foreign Countries
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: ADVOCATE NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR, ANJU BALA, B. SREERAMULU

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3869 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19 TH  MARCH, 2018

## BILATERAL MEETING WITH FOREIGN COUNTIRES

3869.   ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR: SHRIMATI ANJU BALA: SHRI B. SRIRAMULU:

## पैट्रोल ियम और प्राक ृ तिक गैस मंत्री

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- a) whether  the  Minister  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas  (MoPNG)  along  with delegations  comprising  CEOs  of  Public  Sector  Oil  and  Gas  companies  have visited various countries in the year 2017 and if so, the details thereof along with the details of expenditure incurred on the said foreign visits by MoPNG during the last two years and the current year;
- b) whether the MoPNG have conducted bilateral meetings with Petroleum Ministers from Canada, UAE, Israel, USA, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Russia etc. and if so, the  details  thereof  along  with  the  major  co-operative  ventures  and  agreements signed during the above visits along with their present status;
- c) whether an interaction meeting was held recently with experts and global oil and gas  Chief  Executives  and  if  so,  the  details  and  outcome  thereof  along  with  the follow-up taken/action proposed to be taken by the Government thereon;
- d) whether  the  MoPNG  also  interacted  with  Indian  origin  scientists  and  CEOs working  in  the  oil  and  gas  sector  abroad  and  Indian  community  members regarding Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in oil and gas sector in India; and
- e) if so, details thereof along with the major outcome of the said initiative?

## ANSWER

## पैट्रोल ियम और प्राक ृ तिक मंत्री ( श्री धमेन्द्र प्रधान )

MINISTER  OF  PETROLEUM  AND  NATURAL  GAS  (SHRI  DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- a) As part of India's energy diplomacy, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas visits  various  countries  where  India  has  engagements/interests  in  oil  and  gas sector.  Depending  on  the  nature  of  our  engagements,  select  CEOs  of  Public Sector Oil and Gas companies accompany Minister during the visits. During

2017 Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas visited Myanmar, USA, Austria, Turkey,  Kazakhstan,  Japan  and  Thailand  and  held  official  meetings  with  his counterparts. Expenditure in respect of Minister was borne by Government of India and the expenditure in respect of CEO of oil and gas PSUs was borne by the  concerned PSUs. During the visits Minister also shared the recent policy reforms that have taken place in the oil and gas sector and the opportunities for related investments infrastructure development.

- b)  Minister  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas  held  meetings  with  his  counterparts, including from Canada, UAE, Israel, USA, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Russia, etc. at bilateral and multilateral venues. In the last one year, India has signed Memorandum  of  Understandings  with  Israel,  Belarus,  Indonesia,  Japan  and Canada for enhancing cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
- c) In October 2017, NITI Aayog had organised Prime Minister's interaction with experts and CEOs of global oil and gas companies in New Delhi. During the interaction they, inter-alia, discussed issues pertaining to cooperation between producers and consumers, need for research and innovation in the areas related to bio-fuel, Coal Bed  Methane  and  coal gasification technologies and technology transfer.
- d) &(e)  The  Ministry  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  gas  has  set  up  an  International Think  Tank  comprising  persons  of  Indian  origin  who  have  reached  eminent positions  in  oil  and  gas  sector,  representatives  from  research  organisations, universities and international financial institutions. The Think Tank discussed areas in which it could assist the Ministry in Policy formulation, including to attract FDI in the sector, increase contribution of gas in the energy mix, skill development in the hydrocarbon sector, promotion of R&D to serve Indian oil and gas sector, incorporate global best practices and expand India's portfolio of hydrocarbon assets overseas.

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