Speaking at the Consultative Committee meeting, the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Ram Naik, informed that out of a total of about 232 PSUs under the Central Government, 12 PSUs are under the administrative control of Petroleum Ministry. Of these, 5 are navratnas and 6 are mini ratnas and the twelfth one, Numaligarh Refinery Limited, has just commenced production. Moreover, out of top 10 PSUs in turnover in the country, 6 are from oil PSUs while out of top 10 PSUs in profit, 5 are oil PSUs. The Oil PSUs recorded profit after tax of Rs. 11,825 crore against the paid up capital of Rs. 5,204 crore during 2000-2001. The profit-after-tax was substantially higher than Rs. 9,683 crore profits achieved during the preceding year.

    Informing the Committee about launching of Re-development Plan for Mumbai High South on 29^th October, Shri Naik said that the estimated cost of the project is Rs. 5,200 crore which will yield equivalent to 45.60 million tonnes of oil worth Rs. 36,000 crore at the prevalent international prices. This project consists of installation of 17 well Head Platforms, one process platform bridge connected to the existing MHS platform, drilling of 140 new wells and laying of about 245 kilometres of sub-sea pipeline. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2006-07. The Mumbai High north re-development plan launched in January 2001 at an investment of Rs. 2,900 crore is progressing satisfactorily with 9 wells drilled so far. This project would yield incremental output of 30.6 Million Tonnes of oil equivalent valued at about Rs. 24,200 crore.

    Shri Naik also told the members that IOC's Depot-cum-Air Fuelling Station (AFS) and LPG Bottling at Leh was dedicated to the nation on 10.10.2001. The Depot-cum-AFS set up at a cost of Rs. 12.25 crore would provide 4200 KL of ATF, petrol, diesel and kerosene and facilitate adequate storage of fuels during winter months when the entire Ladakh and Kargil region is cut off from the rest of the country. The LPG bottling Plant built at Leh with a capacity to fill 20000 cylinders per month is thermally insulated to facilitate bottling during cold season also. The Minister said these projects might find a place in the 'Guinness Book of World Records' for their strategic location at a height of over 12, 000 feet from the sea level.

    The Minister further added that in order to cater to the demands of the weaker sections of the society as also to facilitate the use of LPG in remote far-flung and hilly terrain, the Government has decided in principle to introduce 5 kg LPG cylinder for domestic use. This will ease transportation of LPG in these areas and also reduce the cost of purchase for the rural households.

    Shri Naik also informed that the administered pricing mechanism (APM) would be dismantled w.e.f. 1^st April, 2002 as per Government plans. The Government is giving final shape to a regulatory mechanism for the downstream petroleum sector together with the road map for de-regulation of pricing of MS, HSD, kerosene and LPG. Referring to other initiatives Shri Naik informed that the bids received for 6 blocks offered for exploration and production of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) are being evaluated and would be awarded very soon. The commerciality of the project declared by the operators of Sakhalin-I project two months ahead of schedule has indicated increase in the reserve estimates of the project by 25-30%. ONGC Videsh Limited had acquired 20% interest in the Sakhalin-I project from Roseneft, Russia.

    Responding to Members’ demand for expediting setting up of the newly allotted petrol pumps and gas agencies, the Minister announced that a crash programme is being launched to speed up the process. He said the pending Letters of Intent (LOIs) would be issued promptly and the transfer of LPG connections to new gas agencies from those who exceeds the prescribed limits will also be accomplished under the programme. Disposal of complaints against selection of dealers will be speeded up. It is envisaged that the crash programme would be completed by November 30^th.

    All the Members complemented Shri Ram Naik for providing dynamic leadership to the oil sector achieving several milestones during last two years and also sailing through smoothly while facing some of the very difficult phases. The members made valuable suggestions for further improving the working of these well performing PSUs. They urged Government to strengthen them to successfully face competition in the post deregulation period.

    Shri Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Shri V.N. Kaul, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas also attended the meeting alongwith CMDs of oil PSUs and other senior officers of the Ministry. The following members attended the meeting:

    S/Shri Lal Bihari Tiwari, Dr. Laxminarayan Pandey, Prof. Rasa Singh Rawat, Ram Shakal, Ram Singh Kaswan, N.H.Diwathe, Kishan Singh Sangwan, Col. D.R. Shandil, Nagmani, Zora Singh Mann, K.K. Kaliappan, Prasanna Acharya, Lakshman Seth, Ram Sajiwan, G. Srinivasa Rao, Ram Jeevan Singh, M.H.Gavit, N.T.Shanmugam, Harpal Singh Sathi, Smt. Ranee Narah and Dr. Girija Vyas (All from Lok Sabha) and Prof. Ram Baksh Singh Verma, S. Peter Alphonse, Prof. Ram Deo Bhandari, A. Vijaya Raghavan, Satish Pradhan, R.N. Arya and Ram Nath Kobind (all from Rajya Sabha).