The challenge of low oil prices for upstream companies should be converted into an opportunity to upscale production, Minister of state for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said here on Tuesday."Low oil prices are a challenge to the upstream industry but it has also resulted in lowering the cost of exploration and related services and we need to convert this challenge into opportunity to upscale production," said Pradhan inaugurating the three-day SPE Oil and Gas International Conference organised by the Society of Petroleum EngineersPradhan highlighted that only half of India's sedimentary basins have been explored with immense potential left to explore the remaining half.
"Exploration of the remaining half should be taken up on top priority in order to curb imports by ten percent by 2022 as envisioned by the Prime Minister," said Pradhan.He said that even under volatile price regime, suitable project management and technology innovation can empower upstream oil companies to resolve half of their problems.Terming the conference's theme "Converting Resources into Production" apt, he shared the various policy initiatives of the government like uniform licensing policy, pricing and marketing freedom and easy to administer revenue sharing models at the conference.