Nath says policies based on premises of inviting more investments
Investments in oil sector especially upstream is necessary and will continue in India, and the authority will conducive policies for investors to participate in continuing the development of Indian hydrocarbon sector, Amar Nath, Additional Secretary (E&CVO), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, has told an industry webinar on 21 July 2021.
“We will make our policies as conducive as possible for the investors. Upstream companies have the opportunity to transform itself and contribute to the growth of the nation as well as sustainability of the climate,” Nath said at the ‘Upstream Oil & Gas Industry in India – The Way Ahead’, a webinar organized by FICCI.
“Investment in Upstream is a must and our policies are based on that premise on inviting more investment and make our policy as investor friendly as possible,” he assured.
He called on the industry to focus on reducing carbon emissions by adopting Scope 1 & 2 emissions and make the upstream companies carbon neutral. “We will have to continue to have energy for the growth and development of the county.”
Highlighting the impact of big oil import bill on the economy, Nath underlined, “The need for oil and gas will continue in India for at least 20 years. We also need to focus on the steps to be taken for carbon reduction and focusing on the sustainable development.”
Upstream industry, he said, will have tremendous pressure on them and more will come from the renewable energy sector. “To mitigate this challenge, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage) is one of the key areas we must focus on. We have the capacity to develop this technology, scale-up and not only decarbonize our economy but help in overall carbon reduction.”
Nath highlighted the potential of hydrogen in the oil and gas sector, pointing out that it is an element which can easily gel with natural gas in terms of transportation, usage. “A marriage between the natural gas and hydrogen has to happen and we need to work more proactively to scale it further. This is another opportunity for the upstream companies to combine with its development.”
In order to boost hydrocarbon production, the E&P sector needs not only deployment of newer technologies but out-of-the-box ideas, added Prashant Modi, Co-Chair, FICCI Hydrocarbons Committee & MD & CEO, Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL).
“As we are moving towards revenue sharing contracts, there should be no approvals which should be needed from the government and it should be based on self-certification,” he said.
Modi strongly advocated for a free market gas pricing regime and doing away of any formula/process to determine gas price. This he said will rekindle interest of E&P players to bring new investments into the sector.” #investment #exploitation #manufacturing #environment #climate #projects #development /fiinews.com
