DGH approves investments worth US$ 4.8 billion during lockdown

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has given investment approvals worth nearly approximately Rs 36,000 crore (US$ 4.8 billion) during the last two weeks for upstream oil and gas activities in India.

Projects in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, including projects of ONGC and Reliance Industries Ltd. in Rajasthan are among the project given approval. These are given approval as ‘work-plan budgets.

“Taking into account approvals for exploration activities too, investment approvals worth nearly US$ 4.8 billion were given by the DGH in the last two weeks alone,” said a DGH official.

The official added, “In the last two weeks, more than 55 management committee meetings have been conducted online.”

The petroleum operations are overseen by management committees and then decisions are taken that dictate oil and gas production activities in India. “In fact, we have decided that all management committee meetings will be held online in the future, too. The system we have devised is much more convenient and there is a fixed time at which everyone needs to be present. This is the new protocol we have established, which will continue after the lockdown as well,” the official said.

DGH control room is also made that operates round-the-clock, seven days a week. The control room coordinates with different levels of the government to ease movement restrictions for upstream projects during the lockdown, the official said.

The official further added: “The prices may remain low in the short-term, but not in the long-term. This is actually a big opportunity for domestic players. These domestic projects have been visualised assuming that the price of crude oil will remain at around US$ 40 a barrel. It is expected that crude will regain those levels once normalcy resumes.”

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.