Lok Sabha Question No. 4093 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-19
Subject: Improvement in Production and Storage of Oil and Gas
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 4093 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19 th  DECEMBER 2024

## IMPROVEMENT IN PRODUCTION AND STORAGE OF OIL AND GAS

## †4093. SHRI BABU SINGH KUSHWAHA:

## पेůोिलयम और ÿाक ृ ितक गैस मंýी

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

- (a) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve the production of oil and gas reserves and their storage;
- (b)  whether the Government proposes to implement any other schemes for development of green energy sources for environmental protection and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the impact of the efforts made by the Government to maintain the stability in supply of petroleum products; and
- (d)  whether  any  new  schemes  are  being  formulated  by  the  Government  in  this  regard  for future need and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## पेůोिलयम और ÿाक ृ ितक गैस मंýालय म¤ राºयमंýी ( ®ी सुरेश गोपी ) MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

## (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

- (a):    Government  has  been  taking  various  steps  to  boost  domestic  oil  and  gas  production which, inter-alia, include:
- i. Policy under PSC regime for early monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries, 2014.
- ii. Discovered Small Field Policy, 2015.
- iii. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), 2016.
- iv. Policy for Extension of PSCs, 2016 and 2017.
- v. Setting up of National Data Repository, 2017.
- vi. Appraisal of Un-appraised areas in Sedimentary Basins under National Seismic Programme, 2017.
- vii.  Policy  framework  for extension  of  PSCs for  Discovered  Fields  and  Exploration  Blocks under Pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy (Pre-NELP), 2016 and 2017.
- viii. Policy to Promote and Incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods for Oil and Gas, 2018.
- ix. Policy Framework for exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Hydrocarbons under Existing  Production  Sharing  Contracts  (PSCs),  Coal  Bed  Methane  (CBM)  Contracts  and Nomination Fields, 2018.

x. Lower Royalty Rates, Zero Revenue Share (till Windfall Gain) and no drilling commitment in Phase-I in OALP Blocks under Category II and III basins to attract bidders.

xi. Release of about 1 Million Sq. Km. (SKM) 'No-Go' area in offshore which were blocked for exploration for decades.

xii.  Government is also acquiring seismic  data  in  onland  and  offshore  areas  and  drilling  of stratigraphic  wells  to  make  quality  data  of  Indian  Sedimentary  Basins  available  to  bidders. Government has approved acquisition of additional 2D Seismic data of 20,000 LKM in onland and 30,000 LKM in offshore beyond Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India.

Also,  Government,  through  a  Special  Purpose  Vehicle  called  Indian  Strategic  Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), has established Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) facilities with total capacity of 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of crude oil at 3 locations namely (i) Vishakhapatnam  (1.33  MMT),  (ii)  Mangaluru  (1.5  MMT)  and  (iii)  Padur  (2.5  MMT) capacity.

(b):  India's energy sector is undergoing a significant transformation with a growing focus on green and cleaner sources of energy. Government is working towards achieving 500 GW of installed  electricity  capacity  from  non-fossil  sources  by  2030.  Schemes  such  as  Pradhan Mantri  Kisan  Urja  Suraksha  evam  Utthaan  Mahabhiyan  (PM-KUSUM),  PM  Surya  Ghar Muft  Bijli  Yojana,  National  Programme  on  High  Efficiency  Solar  PV  Modules,  National Green  Hydrogen  Mission,  have  been  launched.    Scheme  for  setting  up  of  Ultra  Mega Renewable  Energy  Parks  is  being  implemented  to  facilitate  the  project  developers  for expeditious  completion  of  such  projects.  Government  has  also  approved  the  Viability  Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects for installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects.

Further,  The  Ministry  of  New  and  Renewable Energy is implementing  the National  Green Hydrogen Mission, with an objective to make India a global hub of production, usage and export  of  Green  Hydrogen  and  its  derivate  by  targeting  production  of  5  Million  Metric Tonnes (MMT) per annum of green hydrogen by 2030.

Government also notified the National Bioenergy Programme (NBP) with an aim to promote the use of bioenergy and waste-to-energy technologies to support clean energy solutions to enhance energy security and support sustainable development in India. To promote green fuel and other alternate fuels, public sector undertaking oil and marketing companies (IOCL/BPCL/HPCL)  are  required  to  install  facilities  for  marketing  at  least  one  new generation alternate fuels i.e. CNG/LNG/Electric Vehicle Charging points etc. at their retail outlets.

(c)  &  (d):  Government  has  adopted  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  maintain  the  stability  in supply  of  petroleum  products  which, inter  alia ,  include  demand  substitution  by  promoting usage  of  natural  gas  as  fuel/feedstock  across  the  country  towards  increasing  the  share  of natural gas in economy and moving towards gas based economy, promotion of renewable and alternate  fuels  like  ethanol,  compressed  bio  gas  and  biodiesel,  creating  electric  vehicle charging  infrastructure,  refinery  process  improvements,  promoting  energy  efficiency  and conservation, efforts for increasing production of oil and natural gas through various policies initiatives,  etc.  For  promoting  the  use  of  Compressed  Bio  Gas  (CBG)  as  automotive  fuel, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative has also been launched.

Government has promoted various alternative fuels in the petroleum sector, which inter-alia include  Compressed  Natural  Gas  (CNG),  Piped  Natural  Gas  (PNG),  Compressed  Bio  Gas (CBG) and Ethanol blended Petrol. Under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) sell petrol blended with ethanol and under the 'Sustainable Alternative  towards  Affordable  Transportation'  (SATAT)  initiative,  Compressed  Bio  Gas (CBG) is marketed along with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

Under the EBP Programme, the blending of ethanol in petrol increased from 188.6 crore litres in Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2018-19 to more than 700 crore litres in ESY 2023-24, with a corresponding increase in the blending percentage from 5% in ESY 2018- 19 to 14.6% in ESY 2023-24. During the last ten years, EBP Programme has also resulted in approximate savings of more than Rs. 1,08,655 crore of foreign exchange, crude oil substitution of 185 lakh metric tonnes and net CO2 reduction of about 557 lakh metric tonnes.

Oil  and  Gas  Public  Sector  Undertakings  (PSUs)  have  diversified  their  crude  basket  and procure  crude  from  countries  located  at  various  geographical  locations  viz.  Middle  East, Africa, North America, South America, etc.

*****