Pradhan wants to see 'billionaires' from DSF
Never one to mince his words, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan was effusive in his praise of E&P newcomers and assured them of his full support during his address at the PSC signing ceremony for the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) bidding round.
Speaking to assembled industry representatives at the Taj Mahal hotel in Delhi on March 27, Pradhan said: "I'd like to welcome new players. Fifteen of 24 companies present today are new to the industry." Pradhan then looked pointedly at DGH chief Atanu Chakraborty and said he would personally monitor the fields using the DGH's new web portal for DSF round winners.
"I only need to click a few buttons on the website," he said. Pradhan added the DGH must draw up timelines to address the concerns of winners who he said will also get support from ONGC chairman DK Sarraf.
"Crude was trading at $40/barrel when DSF was conceived," he said. "Today crude is trading at $50 and it might go to $55/barrel or $60.
You've earned our trust by bidding in this environment." Getting carried away, Pradhan said he would be happy to see DSF winners become "billionaires". Whether that will happen remains to be seen but the DGH has projected that cumulative peak production from all the fields together will be 15,000 b/d and 2m cm/d.
In place reserves stand at 62m tonnes.
