The Hindu Business Line : Decision on oil bonds for downstream industry soon

The Petroleum Ministry has already held talks with the Finance Ministry over the issue, said Mr Murli Deora, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

He was talking to the media on the sidelines of a function to dedicate a new oil processing platform to the nation.

Fuel price hike

On the issue of fuel price hike, Mr Deora said that Dr Manmohan Singh would take a final decision.

“The Government is trying to ensure that the common man who is a consumer of kerosene and LPG is not affected by the price hike,” he said.

Mr Deora said that by December, New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) VII would be announced. The response to the earlier rounds of NELP has been good and it is expected to further improve in the new round.

Earlier while addressing the audience at the dedication ceremony, Mr Deora said that the Government was pursuing a systematic policy to increase coverage of the Indian sedimentary basins.

Of the 3 million km of country’s sedimentary basins, 43 per cent is currently under exploration.

Mr Deora said that Reliance Industries Ltd, BG Group, and ONGC planned to spend an additional $1billion on the Panna-Mukta-Tapti (PMT) fields, off the western coast, over the next few years to increase the current oil and gas production by 60 per cent.

Mr Deora said that the joint venture partners had already invested $800 million in the PMT fields over the last five years.

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