Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said that the KG Basin is likely to see investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore over next 5-7 years as ONGC, Reliance Industries Limited and GSPC execute their plans and expand their operations.

Addressing a media conference here today to outline some of the achievements during the two year Narendra Modi led Government, he said, “If the plans of ONGC, RIL and GSPC and others go through as proposed, KG Basin will once again be a game changer for India with its oil and gas reserves.”

He said though the exploration and extraction of oil and gas in the KG basin is quite challenging and capital intensive, it holds immense potential. The policy changes brought about by the Government earlier this year will help tap the huge reserves in the Basin. In addition, there is huge potential for gas hydrates from these fields and work in now underway to explore various options, he said.

Referring to the focus on Telangana, which last week completed its second anniversary of the State formation, he said that the Centre has planned a number of projects for the State. These include the Mallavaram to Ramgundam gas pipeline, which will help revive the sick Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) unit with the gas from the KG Basin.

“There is another pipeline now under execution from Paradip to Hyderabad from the Indian Oil Corporation refinery. This will help better manage the supply chain for various petroleum products,” he said.

Referring to the City Gas Distribution networks, he said, “The Bhagyanagar Gas will be able to provide connectivity to over one lakh users over the next two years and this will then be expanded to reach out to more consumers.”

While mentioning about how the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme has brought about a major change in the way subsidies are implemented and transferred to the beneficiaries, Pradhan said his ministry has set an ambitious target of providing 5 crore LPG connections to below poverty line families over the next three years.

Related Topics