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Cabinet approves ONGC exploration

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, April 22

THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its in-principle approval to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for carrying out exploration in six deep water blocks. It has also allowed the company to form an alliance with experienced exp loration and production companies.

Announcing this at a press briefing, the Union Minister for Information Technology and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, said the Government has permitted ONGC to select alliance partners by inviting offers from shortlisted companies based on w ell-defined criteria and parameters approved by an empowered committee of secretaries.

Further, exploration in these six deep water blocks -- one in the Kutch basin, two in the Kerala-Konkan basin and three in the Krishna-Godhavari basin -- have been granted tax sops announced in the New Exploration Policy (NELP), as a one-time exception.

As of now, the customs duty, royalty and cess concessions available in the NELP were available only to the investors bidding for 48 oil blocks offered in August last year.

Mr. Mahajan noted that the Government has also cleared the proposal for exploration of coal bed methane (CBM) at Raniganj coal field (West Bengal) and approved the petroleum exploration licence application of Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEEC) for the purpose.

He said the company has been granted the licence to carry out exploration of methane from the coal field in line with the new CBM exploration policy.

GEEC will enter into contract with the Government, the terms of which will be finalised with mandate from the empowered committee of secretaries. He said 2.5 per cent royalty payable to the Union Government under the FIPB approval by the firm will be tre ated as production level payment at a fixed rate. There would also be an exemption in customs duty for equipments imported for the concerned block range field as per the CBM policy.

Meanwhile, the CCEA has also approved the continuation of a few centrally-sponsored schemes during the remaining part of the Ninth Plan period, such as the Oilseeds Production Programme (OPP), National Pulses Development Project (NPDP), Integrated Develo pment of Cashew and Coco, Integrated Programme of Development of Spices, Centrally-sponsored scheme for development of horticulture through plasticulture and a few schemes of the National Horticulture Board.