What has govt done to reduce oil imports? Tewari in Parliament

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday questioned the government over its efforts to reduce India’s heavy reliance on oil imports. During a discussion on the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, Tewari criticised the government for failing to curb the country’s dependency on foreign crude oil and natural gas.

“The unfortunate reality is that in 2023-24, India imported 87.8 per cent of its crude oil and natural gas needs. Today, that figure could be as high as 90 per cent. This raises a legitimate question — what has this government done over the past 10 years to reduce import dependency?” Tewari asked.

Tewari argued that the Bill lacks a long-term vision to address India’s energy security challenges. He also pointed out declining oil production at Mumbai High, India’s largest offshore oil field, despite collaborations with global energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil.

“The Mumbai High field, at its peak, produced 4,76,000 barrels per day. What is its production now? Just 1,34,000 barrels per day. Despite partnerships with Chevron and ExxonMobil, production has not increased,” he said.

The Congress MP also questioned why the government had not made progress in shale oil and gas exploration, which has made the United States nearly self-sufficient in energy.

“According to estimates, India has 96 trillion cubic feet of shale gas and one billion barrels of shale oil in the Cambay, Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basins. What has the government done in the past 10 years to tap into this potential? Why is there no explanation for the lack of action?” he asked.

Calling the legislation “technical” rather than transformative, Tewari argued that it makes only minor amendments without addressing the larger issue of India’s energy security.

“This Bill makes small changes here and there. But what’s missing is a vision. What’s missing is a roadmap,” he said.