Renuka Bisht

Well-placed sources have hinted that Oil India Limited (OIL) is poised to gain Navratna status, a development that would not only ensure better visibility to the PSU, but reinforce its already solid credentials among partners and competitors. More important, as a Navratna company it would have additional decision making powers needed for nimble corporate moves.

President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday plans for a broad expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in an effort to win Republican support for new proposals to fight climate change.

Obama, a Democrat, said his administration would consider new areas for drilling in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while

Sri Lanka plans to offer three more blocks off the island

Sri Lanka is to strike oil and gas as soon as the report on 3 D seismic studies are completed within two months. The study would enable to ascertain how much hydrocarbon deposits are available in the Mannar Basin. It is expected that the first barrel of oil could be extracted by 2013, said Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M. Fowzie at a media briefing yesterday.

A leading Australian firm SMEC International has joined hands with Clough Engineering and Integrated Solutions (CEIS) to enhance its activities in the exploration of oil and gas in Pakistan. Australian High Commission in Pakistan and CEIS hosted a reception at the embassy to celebrate the acquisition of CEIS by the SMEC International.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved splitting of an oil and gas block falling in Assam and Nagaland into two so that exploration that previously could not be completed in Nagaland can now be taken up.