Lok Sabha Question No. 1540 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-05
Subject: Oil Wells MoU with Gulf Countries/ Abudhabi
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: V. SATHYABAMA, KRISHNAN NARAYANASAMY RAMACHANDRAN, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, R.K. BHARATHI MOHAN, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, ANANDRAO  ADSUL, PR. SENTHILNATHAN, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE, DHARMENDRA YADAV, Shrirang Appa Barne

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1540

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 th  March, 2018

## OIL WELLS MOU WITH GULF COUNTRIES/ ABU DHABI

1540:   SHRIMATI V. SATHYA BAMA:

SHRI K.N. RAMACHANDRAN:

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT:

SHRI BHARATHI MOHAN R.K.:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO:

SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

SHRI PR. SENTHIL NATHAN:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE:

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

## पैट्रोल ियम और प्राक ृ तिक गैस मंत्री

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

- a) whether  the  Government  has  inked  any  new  Memorandum  of  Understanding (MoU)/concession agreement to purchase/ own 10 per cent stake to develop oil wells/ hydrocarbon resources in Abudhabi/UAE/ other Gulf countries during the visit of Prime Minister in the recent past;
- b) if so, the details of the terms and conditions of the said agreement along with the expenditure to be incurred by ONGC Videsh/other companies thereon;
- c) whether the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) offshore concession in favour of the Indian consortium has taken our bilateral engagement in the oil and gas sector;
- d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  extent  to  which  it  is  likely  to  benefit  the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and UAE; and
- e) whether the Government has chalked out any comprehensive strategy to reach self-reliance  in  Oil  and  Petroleum  sector  and  to  reduce  import  of  Oil  and Petroleum products and if so, the details thereof along with the total expenditure incurred  during  the  last  three  years  on  import  of  oil  and  petroleum  products from various countries including United States of America and  UAE, country/year-wise?

## ANSWER

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

## MINISTER  OF  PETROLEUM  AND  NATURAL  GAS  (SHRI  DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- a) to (b): On 10 th February, 2018, an Indian Consortium comprising ONGC Videsh, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Bharat PetroResources Ltd jointly acquired 10% Participating  Interest  (PI)  in  Lower  Zakhum  offshore  oil  field  from  Abu  Dhabi National  Oil  Company  (ADNOC)  of  UAE  at  a  cost  of  US  $  600  million.  The Agreements in this regard were signed during the State visit of Prime Minister to UAE. This is India's first investment in the upstream sector in the Gulf and the Middle East region.
- c) to (d):  The acquisition of 10% PI by the Indian Consortium has taken the bilateral engagement between Indian and UAE, particularly in the oil and gas sector, to the next phase which is in sync with the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The engagement has progressed from a buyer-seller relationship to an era of mutual investments in the oil and gas sector. The 10% PI gives India an average of 1.75 MMTPA (Million Metric Ton Per Annum) of crude for the next 40 years and has augmented India's energy security.
- e) During the Financial Year 2016-17 India consumed 194.6 MMT of crude oil as against domestic production of 35.9 MMT. Since India relies on crude imports, the government  has  adopted  a  five  pronged  approach  comprising  of  increasing domestic production of oil and gas, promoting energy efficiency and conservation measures,  giving  thrust  on  demand  substitution,  capitalizing  untapped  potential biofuels  and  other  alternate  fuels/renewable  and  measures  for  refinery  process improvements. Further, to augment India's energy security, Government has been working  towards  diversifying  supply  sources  of  oil  and  gas  and  acquisition  of overseas oil and gas producing assets. Year-wise Import of Crude oil & Petroleum Products, including from USA and UAE are as below:

| Imports of Crude Oil(In MMT)          | Imports of Crude Oil(In MMT)          | Imports of Crude Oil(In MMT)          | Imports of Crude Oil(In MMT)          |
|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| Year                                  | Total                                 | UAE                                   | USA                                   |
| 2014-15                               | 189.6                                 | 16.1                                  | -                                     |
| 2015-16                               | 202.8                                 | 15.7                                  | -                                     |
| 2016-17                               | 213.9                                 | 17.6                                  | -                                     |
| 2017-18(Apr-Nov)*                     | 144.7                                 | 9.17                                  | 1.52                                  |
| Imports of Petroleum Products(In MMT) | Imports of Petroleum Products(In MMT) | Imports of Petroleum Products(In MMT) | Imports of Petroleum Products(In MMT) |
| 2014-15                               | 21.3                                  | 3.5                                   | 5                                     |
| 2015-16                               | 29.4                                  | 5.3                                   | 6.4                                   |
| 2016-17                               | 36.3                                  | 6.3                                   | 9.8                                   |
| 2017-18(Apr-Nov)*                     | 29.8                                  | 3.6                                   | 4.5                                   |

*Provisional