Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, hopes to conclude a deal to allow India to develop the Farzad B gas block in Iran during his visit to the Gulf nation next month.
“Iran is an important partner in the energy sector for India. We stood by them when times were tough for them. Now, we have a lot of interests in Iran. Farzad B is our primary interest for exploration and production,” said Pradhan, speaking at the sidelines of the 2nd IndianOil Gas Conclave.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, along with its partners Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India had made the discovery in the Farsi offshore fields in Iran in 2008. The Farzad B block has estimated in-place reserves of 21.68 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of which 12.8 tcf of gas and 212 million barrels of condensate may be recoverable.
Pradhan said, “In the current scenario, India’s interests in Iran include issues such as Chabahar port and development of an industrial complex in Iran using gas from the country. Various departments of the government are in discussions but our Ministry will prioritise the Farzad B discussions.”
Meanwhile, the Minister also said that the public sector oil companies are planning a start-up fund for the oil and gas sector.
“If any entrepreneur comes up with an interesting business model, whether it is in technology or infrastructure, the public sector companies will help them. The size of the fund will be commercially decided by the companies,” he said.
Addressing the gas conclave, Pradhan said that hydrocarbon industry stakeholders have to evaluate whether Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board is helping build the natural gas infrastructure in the country or restricting its growth.
“We have to jointly evaluate the model of the PNGRB. According to me, responsibility for the gas infrastructure lies more with PNGRB. Time has come to revisit the model and restructure ourselves without harming the autonomy of the regulator,” said the Minister.