Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on March 21 said public-sector oil companies led by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) would set up a ‘start-up fund’ in FY17 to support technology innovation in the hydrocarbon sector.

“The PSUs in consultations with the petroleum ministry are planning the creation of a start-up fund for the oil and gas industry.The PSUs are working on setting up a venture capital fund to encourage start-ups to develop new business models, marketing plans, technology and innovation in hydrocarbon arena,” Pradhan said at the IOC second gas conclave here.

He is confident that the target of 10% reduction in India’s import dependence on energy will be achieved by 2022. He feels that natural gas will play a major role in achieving this target.

PwC India, in a report unveiled on Tuesday, mentioned that while the forecast for the natural gas sector remains grim, government intervention in terms of infrastructure development and regulatory changes could go a long way in the development of this sector. With the global focus shifting to climate change, the significance of natural gas has grown manifold and it is within the government’s policy options to usher growth of this sector by bringing in necessary policy reforms.

The PwC conducted a survey where around 50% of the respondents believed that LNG holds the largest potential for meeting India’s gas requirements and believe that the time is right for investments into equity gas in view of the projection that LNG prices will remain low in the medium to long term.

Pradhan said India is a growth story, its energy consumption is increasing and without energy security, there can be no development. He said gas is the future fuel and India is taking steps to boost exploration and production.

Source: The Financial Express