Various steps have been taken by the Govt to reduce import of crude oil

25 Mar 2022 , 01:16 PM

The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli informed that the production of crude oil till February 2022 has been 27.16 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) (provisional) against the target of 31.80 MMT for the current financial year. The decline in production of crude oil in recent years has been due to natural decline and an increase in water cut in wells of matured fields.

Various steps have been taken to reduce the import of Crude Oil. These steps inter alia include demand substitution by promoting the usage of natural gas as fuel and moving towards the gas-based economy, promotion of renewable and alternate fuels like ethanol, compressed biogas and biodiesel, refinery process improvements, promoting energy efficiency and conservation.

Further, policies have been introduced for increasing production of oil and natural gas under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime, Discovered Small Field Policy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy, etc.

The government has also provided functional freedom to National Oil Companies, and for wider private sector participation by streamlining approval processes including an electronic single-window mechanism.

To give a major thrust to Ethanol Blending Programme, the Government of India through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) is establishing 2G Ethanol plants across the country, and promoting the use of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as automotive fuel, under Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative by Oil Marketing Companies.