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In 2005, 21 oil and gas discoveries were made in India, which included 14 by private/joint venture companies, four by ONGC and three by OIL. Oil PSUs also acquired acreages/participating interests in 23 blocks in seven countries.

New Delhi , Dec. 30

THE year 2005 saw the hydrocarbons sector making significant efforts to accelerate domestic exploration activities and seek acreages abroad so that energy security is ensured for the country.

Initiatives were also taken to promote India as a major petroleum product-exporting hub.

Further, attempts were made to bridge the increasing gap in supply of natural gas vis-à-vis demand. This was done through import of natural gas by transnational pipelines and LNG imports along with harnessing of domestic sources.

As regards the pricing of petroleum products, which were faced with unprecedented high volatility in global prices, attempts were made to insulate the domestic consumers of the impact on petrol and diesel to the maximum extent, while no price increase was made for LPG (cooking gas) and PDS kerosene (SKO).

Steps were also taken to reduce the malpractices in the sale of petroleum products and `Jan Kerosene Pariyojana' was launched to strengthen PDS SKO distribution.

Measures were also taken to exploit new and alternative sources such as, biofuels, CNG-hydrogen blended fuels, and underground coal gasification.

The fifth round under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-V) launched in January saw nearly 26 foreign companies participating in the bidding against the previous best of 10 companies in NELP-I.

During the year 21 oil and gas discoveries were made in India, which included 14 by private/joint venture companies, four by ONGC and three by OIL.

Along with focus on domestic E&P, acreages/participating interests were acquired in 23 blocks in seven countries by the oil PSUs during the year. The year was also significant as India's largest investment abroad in Sakhalin-I Project in Russia commenced oil and gas production in October.

Further, to meet the increasing demand for natural gas, which is in short supply in the country, the initiatives to import gas, through transnational pipelines received a boost this year.

On the domestic front, to curb adulteration and to ensure the supply of right quality and quantity of petroleum products to the consumers, the Government directed oil companies to institute a mechanism of surveillance through a separate wing (other than marketing) and amended the Marketing Discipline Guideline providing greater penalties and fixing accountability for malpractices in sale of petroleum products.

State Governments were urged to exercise greater vigilance as they are empowered to take criminal action under the Essential Commodities Act against erring dealers.

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