BackONGC to invest Rs78,000 crore in KG basin, signs deal with Andhra Pradesh
As per the deal, the Andhra Pradesh government will assist ONGC in taking over land and in obtaining other statutory clearance
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New Delhi: State-owned explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) said on Saturday it will invest Rs78,000 crore in the Krishna Godavari basin for producing hydrocarbons and has signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government for smooth execution of the projects.
ONGC has been pursuing exploration in the basin and had last March announced a $5 billion (Rs34,000 crore) investment over the next three years in two of its fields there after the central government earlier that month announced a liberal pricing formula for natural gas from deep sea blocks.
The investment figure announced on Saturday is for the entire basin. The agreement with Andhra Pradesh to “take forward all critical exploration and production activities in the state" was signed on the sidelines of the Partnership Summit, 2017 jointly organized by the state government and industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Visakhapatnam on Friday.
ONGC sees Andhra Pradesh as a hydrocarbon rich state. “ONGC is very aggressively pursuing to put the huge gas reserves it has discovered in KG basin, to production. It plans to invest about Rs10,000 crore for exploration and production activities in onland blocks and about Rs68,000 crore in offshore assets in the KG Basin," said a company statement.
As per the deal, the state government will assist ONGC in taking over land and in obtaining other statutory clearances. The state has offered ‘single window service’ through office of the Commissioner of Industries.
Also read: Andhra Pradesh investment summit sees 665 MoUs worth over Rs10.5 trillion
All state-owned oil and gas companies together have planned an investment of Rs1.43 trillion in Andhra Pradesh, the statement said quoting oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan who was present on the occasion. “These Investments would start from 2017-18 and will be completed by 2021-22," it said quoting Pradhan.
Andhra Pradesh will extend full cooperation in making the country self-sufficient in energy and the present agreement is the first step in that direction, the statement said quoting chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was also present on the occasion.
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