Says A Govt Proposal That Is Being Touted As Only Viable Biz Model For The PSU

Gandhinagar: Only a viable business model, which includes stopping some of the unprofitable foreign operations immediately where huge sums have gone down the drain and progressively getting out of its other oil-and-gas explorations, can help Gujarat government’s premier PSU Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC). Well-placed sources told TOI, a blueprint of the business model, discussed at a recent GSPC board meeting, is already under consideration at the “highest level”, and a final decision in the matter may be taken after the state assembly polls.

About a dozen companies are contributing to a novel conservation plan that pays Ecuador to protect part of the Amazon rainforest in return for barring oil drilling, the head of the initiative said

NEW DELHI, 17 OCT: The oil ministry has informed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that it has not given final nod to Reliance Industries' plans to raise natural gas output from the flagging KG-D6

New Delhi The leeway for oil producers to stagger or defer sharing of profit with the government could go. The upstream oil regulator has proposed that these companies earmark a defined fraction of their revenue for the government, right from the start of production.

Currently, producers can decide whether and how to recover their investments before starting to share profits with the state. The Comptroller and Auditor General has criticised this system as it allows a perverse incentive to front-load capital expenditure and delay government’s share of profits.

New Delhi: The government has cleared a bulk of the 52 exploration blocks that were bid out successfully but were stuck over defence and environmental clearances, oil secretary G C Chaturvedi said

New Delhi: The government would offer exploration blocks for the next round of auction only after fine-tuning the existing policy for making it friendlier for investors and easier for the governmen

After GAIL found new oil reserves in Ganganagar last month, now Focus Energy last week hit upon huge reserves of gas in three wells in SJL field at RJON/06 in the Shahgarh Bulj area in Jaisalmer at a depth of 3,170m.

Focus Energy is still digging four new wells where the chances of finding gas reserves are high. Focus Energy is using modern technology for exploring oil and gas. The firm has also applied to the state government for making new air strip to ferry the experts in charted planes. The Ministry of defence has also approved it.

New Delhi After the lacklustre response from foreign participants in the earlier NELP rounds, the government is looking to revamp its oil and gas exploration policy before the NELP-X round of auction.

The government is planning to initiate the 10th round of auction under the new exploration licensing policy (NELP) after making changes in the production sharing contracts to attract more domestic and foreign investors.

The government plans to relax rules for oil and gas exploration licences in time for the next bidding round, to attract global companies.

“Before the next round (of exploration licensing) we would like to put in place a more investor-friendly regime, both for investment and from the point of view of pricing,” oil minister S Jaipal Reddy said. Companies have to get government approval for the formulae they use to work out selling prices for the oil and gas. India, the world’s fourth-biggest oil importer, wants to tap domestic supply to cut its ballooning import bill and widening budget deficit. So far, local companies have dominated auctions for Indian licences and the government wants to attract more foreign bidders.

Co may freeze oil & gas investments till clarity on gas pricing.