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ONGC plans to develop Russia's oil fields; new policy to open up exploration

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, India's state-owned oil company, plans to work with Russian firms to develop Russia's oil fields.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Generalov said the ONGC is interested in projects in the central Russian region of Tatarstan, the southern region of Astrakhan, and Sakhalin Island in the Pacific.

Generalov spoke after meeting Indian Petroleum Minister Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy in Moscow on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency.

Meanwhile, in Calcutta, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Santosh Gangwar, said that the much-awaited "new exploration licensing policy'' will be announced next week.

The NELP will identify at least 48 new blocks in the country for oil and gas exploration and nine for coal mining.

The ministry will then float global tenders to invite national and international bidders to participate in the exploration projects under the private, joint and public sectors.

The tenders will offer several sops, including a seven-year (at least) tax holiday for the successful bidders from the date of commencement of exploration and ten per cent royalty to the state concerned.

Refusing to divulge any more details, Gangwar said many international players, including the US-based Mobil and Caltex, companies from Russia and other former Soviet states, and Iran and Iraq have shown keen interest in exploring oil in India.

Among the Indian bidders, besides ONGC, several private-sector corporate giants will participate, he said.

About the multi-million-rupee project to connect the entire nation -- from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir to Trivandrum in Kerala and from Rajkot in Gujarat to Guwahati in Assam -- through a single gas pipeline, Gangwar said the work has begun, but it will take more time and a lot of money.

At the same time, he said "money was never and will never be a problem", with several industrial houses showing an interest in the "dream scheme".

UNI