Cabinet nod for incentivising projects to improve oil recovery
New Delhi, Sep 12 : In a move to boost domestic production of hydrocarbons, the cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy to incentivise improved recovery of oil and gas from aging fields.
Following a cabinet meeting, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the fiscal incentives to attract investments and technology into the sector will help unlock an estimated Rs 50 lakh crore of oil and gas in the next 20 years.
"The cabinet has approved a policy framework to promote and incentivise enhanced recovery and improved recovery as well as unconventional hydrocarbon production methods and techniques to improve the recovery factor of existing hydrocarbons reserves for augmenting domestic production of oil and gas," Pradhan said.
"Because of this, new investment and technology will come and Rs 50 lakh crore worth of production will increase in 10 years," he said.
Technological interventions have significant potential in stimulating the recovery of hydrocarbon reserves from the mature and aging fields. An increase by 5 per cent in recovery rate of the original in-place volume in oil production is envisaged to produce 120 million tonnes of additional oil in next 20 years," he said.
"In case of gas, an increase of 3 per cent recovery rate on original in-place volume is envisaged, leading to additional production of 52 billion cubic metres of gas in the next 20 years," the Minister added.
Pradhan said oil companies bringing in investment and new technology in exploration would be granted a 50 per cent reduction in cess, while such companies in gas would get a discount in royalty of 75 per cent.
The policy will be applicable to all contractual regimes and nomination fields.
"The policy is expected to facilitate induction of new, innovative and cutting-edge technology and forging technological collaboration to improve the productivity of existing fields," he said.
The policy, with a sunset clause, will be effective for 10 years from the date of its notification.
However, the fiscal incentives will be available for a period of 120 months from the date of commencement of production in such projects, the government said.
"In case of improved recovery projects, the incentives will be available from the date of achievement of the prescribed benchmark. Defined timelines have been prescribed to complete the various processes under the policy," it added.
Commenting on the development, Vedanta Ltd Chief Executive (Oil and Gas) Sudhir Mathur said in a statement that the move would spur the growth of the domestic oil and gas industry.
"This policy will attract much-needed investments, and usher in a wave of best-in-class technologies to improve India's hydrocarbons recovery," he said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
