According to Mr R S Pandey secretary ministry of petroleum and natural gas, Indian upstream hydrocarbon sector, under NELP VIII/CBM IV presents a unique opportunity for Indian and overseas investors due to its well established prospectivity, transparent bidding regime, huge domestic market and availability of numerous fiscal and financial incentives.

Mr Pandey while addressing a CII Interactive Meet on NELP-VIII / CBM-IV said that there is no doubt over hydrocarbon prospectivity in India, as there have been over 100 discoveries in the past 10 years in the country and two-third of which were under various rounds of NELP.

He highlighted that Indian sedimentary basins are relatively under explored. Before NELP only 11% of total prospective area was explored. As of now, it has increased to 50%, while the target is to cover 80% area by 2015-16. However, in the covered areas also, exploration has not been very intensive and this certainly indicates a big opportunity for E&P players in the hydrocarbon sector in India.

Mr Pandey also emphasized that India offers a huge and growing market for hydrocarbons. For several hydrocarbon companies across the world, finding markets for selling their products is a big concern. Indian will continue to have attractive markets as demand for oil and gas is expected to grow exponentially. According to International Energy Agency projections the average growth in hydrocarbon consumption would be 1.6% till 2020, while in India consumption would increase at a rate of 3.2% per annum.

Mr Pandey underlined that the present NELP round offers 70 blocks which is highest ever offered so far under round. NELP-VIII has room for all sorts of E&P players as the portfolio of blocks includes deepwater, shallow water, -land blocks and several S-type blocks. The offer is backed by a transparent and streamlined bidding regime, which ensures a level-playing field for all. The entire post bidding formalities will be completed within 2 to 3 months.

While alleviating investors concerns over the stability of fiscal regime, Mr Pandey affirmed that the incentives being provided under the present NELP round are part of the Indian Finance Act, which is sacrosanct in nature. Incentives such as zero cess for deepwater blocks, complete exemption from income tax and only 5% royalty for first seven years are available for the present round. However, these may not be available in the future as prospectivity improves.

(Sourced from Webnewswire.com)