1 Mn Sqkm Oil Exploration Area By 2030: OilMin

Greater Noida: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that the government aims to expand the India’s oil exploration acreage to 1 million sqkm by 2030 to further bolster the country’s energy security.

Addressing the GEO India 24 conference here, Puri said the government has reduced ‘No-Go’ areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by almost 99 per cent, opening up vast new areas for oil and gas exploration.

The minister pointed out that when the Narendra Modi government took office in 2014, only 6 per cent of India’s sedimentary basins had been explored.

“Today, this figure has risen to 10 per cent, and with further exploration activity under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds, this is set to increase to 16 per cent by 2025,” he added.