Oil output rose 7% in 2009-10, says govt

The Congress-led UPA government heavily banked on private firms Reliance Industries and Cairn India to paint a rosy picture of rising oil and gas production in the first year of its second term in office, while sweeping under the carpet the falling output of state-run companies.

"The domestic crude oil production during 2009-10 has increased by 7 per cent over the last year," the government said in its report card of the first year in governance.

In saying so, it relied on the 60,000 barrels per day output from Rajasthan fields of Cairn India and 32,000 bpd from RIL's eastern offshore KG fields.

The two on an annual basis have added some 4.5 million tonnes of crude oil production, while state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation saw its output falling from 25.36 million tonnes to 24.85 million tonnes in 2009-10.

Similarly on natural gas front, RIL's eastern offshore KG-D6 field helped the nation increase clean fuel production by 80 per cent. KG-D6 is currently producing over 60 million cubic meters a day of gas or 40 per cent of the total national output.

"Great emphasis has been placed on enhancing energy security through rapid exploration of domestic oil and gas reserves, combined with acquisition abroad and enhancement of refining capacity," the report card said.

The government took pride in saying that it insulated the consumers from the high volatility of international oil prices - when crude rates ranged between $47 and $81 per barrel in 2009-10.

Additional gas from KG-D6 has been allocated to various priority sectors like power, fertiliser, steel, LPG, city gas and refineries, the report said.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of ONGC, is producing oil and gas in seven countries - Sudan, Vietnam, Venezuela, Russia, Syria, Brazil and Columbia.

"The country is not only self-sufficient in refining capacity for its domestic consumption but is also exporting petroleum products," it said.

The capacity of Petronet LNG Ltd's Dahej LNG terminal has been doubled to 10 million tonnes per annum in July. Dabhol LNG terminal, with 5 million tonnes capacity, is expected to be commissioned shortly.