By IANS
New Delhi : Public sector oil and gas exploration companies added more hydrocarbon reserves in the past five years than they produced in the same period, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here Tuesday.
He was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.
“ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd) has made two gas discoveries during 2006-07 in Mahanadi offshore as a result of exploratory efforts,” Deora said.
The minister said that out of the estimated 28 billion tonnes of hydrocarbon resources in the country, the presence of about 8.8 billion tonnes of reserves had been established.
During the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), 80 percent of Indian sedimentary basin including deepwater and frontier areas would be taken up for exploration of oil and gas reserves, he said.
“Public sector oil companies like ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) use the latest technology for pursuing their exploration and production objectives,” Deora maintained.
With the economy growing at a rate of about 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the demand for petroleum products is likely to increase from 119.8 million tonnes in 2006-07 to 131.767 million tonnes in 2011-12, the minister said.
At present, India imports 70 percent of its hydrocarbon requirements. In 2006-07, crude oil processing was about 141.46 million tonnes – 11.4 percent higher than in 2005-06, he added.