By IANS
New Delhi : The government has approved an investment plan of Rs.2.3 trillion ($57.3 billion) for the state-owned oil and gas companies in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12), minister of state for petroleum Dinsha Patel said here Tuesday.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said: “The approved outlay for all oil PSUs (public sector units) in the current plan is Rs.2.3 trillion.”
“With the proposed investment, the Oil PSUs would undertake all activities in the oil and gas sector including exploration and production and refining and marketing. This would help in meeting the growing energy needs of the Indian economy,” he said.
“By the end of the 11th plan, the domestic crude oil production is estimated to increase to 206.76 million tonnes from the previous plan production of 166.56 million tonnes,” Patel said.
“In the same period, domestic natural gas production is estimated at 255.76 billion cubic metres (BCM), as compared to 158.86 BCM in the preceding plan,” he added.
“In the current plan, the production of crude oil and natural gas from overseas sources is targeted to be 35.51 million tonne and 9.67 BCM respectively.”
“The refining capacity is projected to go up to 240.96 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in the terminal year of the current plan as against 148.97 MTPA at the end of the last Plan,” said the minister.
“In fact, the country is expected to have surplus refining capacity of about 108 MTPA by the end of 11th plan,” he told the house.