India is offering global investment opportunities worth $ 100 billion in the energy sector to be met by 2030, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has said.

Puri said the government aims to increase the acreage under oil and gas exploration to one million sq. km. by 2030.

“Only 10 percent of India’s sedimentary basin area is under exploration today. After the award of blocks under the forthcoming Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds, this will increase to 16 percent by the end of this year,” the Minister said.

He was speaking yesterday after the conclusion of “Urja Varta 2024,” a two-day conclave organised by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

The conclave brought together 400 industry experts, service providers, consultants, and academia members from both traditional and non-traditional energy sectors all over the world.

Puri announced the formation of a Joint Working Group comprising representatives from private sector exploration and production enterprises, the national oil companies, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and the DGH to address industry concerns and improve the ease of doing business in the sector.

“We have already simplified and reduced 37 approval processes into 18. Nine of these processes are now eligible for self-certification. However, we recognize the need to push these reforms further,” the Minister added.

He said India had already reduced the “no-go” areas in India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by almost 99 percent. – editor@nrifocus.com