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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17,969 acres Wakf property encroached in Karnataka, mostly by Muslims: Minister Khan
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister for Wakf & Minority Welfare B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan told the Legislative Assembly on Monday that 17,969 acres of Wakf property have been encroached upon in the state, mostly by Muslims themselves.
The minister was responding to a question by Afzalpur Congress MLA M Y Patil during the Question Hour.
"Total Wakf property across the state is 1,12,860 acres, out of which only 20,054 acres is in our hands. As many as 17,969 acres have been encroached, 47,263 acres have gone under the Inam Abolition Act and 23,627 acres have gone under the Land Reforms Act," Khan said.
He said that after the Congress government came to power and he became the department's minister, Wakf Adalats were held across the state aimed at removing encroachments.
Noting that 1,12,860 acres of Wakf land were given not by the government, but by private individuals and organisations for the welfare of the community, the minister said encroachments on Wakf property are mostly by the Muslim community itself, not by temples or other communities.
"Encroachments on Wakf land are not by others, they are done by Muslims themselves. Wakf Adalats were held to remove those encroachments, but the BJP made it an issue," he said, adding that encroachment issues are being resolved.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka intervened and said the BJP's objections were not about removing encroachments by Muslims on Wakf land, but about farmers' land, land belonging to schools such as the one studied by Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, and in some cases land belonging to temples, among others, being claimed as Wakf land.
The BJP is in fact in favour of an investigation into the encroachment of Wakf properties, he said.
Responding to this, the minister clarified that the government is not laying hands on any temples or educational institutions by claiming them as Wakf property.
"To identify encroachments by private people, mostly Muslims, Wakf Adalats were held," he added.
