(PTI)
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today unveiled to investors here India’s upcoming second round of auction of discovered oil and gas fields, and said that over 195 million tonnes of hydrocarbon reserves would be put on offer.
The bid dates for the Discovered Small Field round II (DSF-II), where 22 contract areas made up of 60 discovered oil and gas fields would be offered, are yet to be announced. In a series of tweets, Pradhan said DSF Round-I was a success which has given “immense confidence on the upcoming discoveries under DSF-II”.
“A whopping 60 large size discoveries with an in-place reserve volume of over 195 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas is on offer under DSF-II,” he tweeted.India is looking at attracting investors from oil-rich Gulf region to give a push to its almost stagnant oil and gas production. Raising domestic output is key to achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of cutting oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022. India imports over 80 per cent of its oil needs. The 60 discovered fields have been clubbed into 26 contract areas – 15 onland and 11 shallow offshore.