Vedanta bets $ 6 billion to double oil-gas output
10 Oct 2017 10:44 PM IST
New Delhi: Mining mogul Anil Agarwal has said his company Vedanta Ltd will invest over $6 billion to double oil and gas production to 4,00,000 barrels per day in 3 -4 years, but wants the government to extend Rajasthan oil field licence without any condition. He also wanted the government to allow export of crude oil produced from the Barmer fields in Rajasthan to discover the right price.
"I have a feeling that the world does not want India to produce oil. They want to keep supplying oil to India," he said in an interview here.
Agarwal, who was one of the two dozen CEOs of top global and Indian firms to have brainstormed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ways to increase domestic output on Monday, said India has about 70 billion barrels of resources that can be produced for 35 years.
Right policies and unencumbered clearances, according to Agarwal, should be given without delays. "I feel that except for environment clearance, there should be no other clearance required," he said. Vedanta, which in 2011 bought Cairn India from its British promoters at an enterprise value of $14.5 billion, has "not recovered the money spent on the acquisition", he said.
"But we are investing more. We are determined to double the oil and oil equivalent of gas production to 4,00,000 barrels per day in 3-4 years," he said. "We are investing Rs 40,000 crore more in Rajasthan and other fields."
During first half of the current fiscal, Vedanta Ltd produced over 1,84,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas (boepd). The Rajasthan block produced 1,56,278 boepd.
Agarwal suggested that the government should extend the Rajasthan field contract beyond the current tenure ending May 2020, without any condition.
"Asking for 10 per cent more profit petroleum (for extension) will make it unviable," the Vedanta chief said.
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