Business OpportunitiesAndhra to invest Rs 160 crore for exploration
The Andhra Pradesh government, which won four oil blocks in the VIII round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (Nelp) bidding on Monday, will invest about Rs 160 crore in oil and natural gas related activities over the next five years.
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Newly-formed entity AP Gas Infrastructure Corporation (APGIC), a joint venture of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation(APIIC) and power utility AP Generation Corporation (APGenco), paired up with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to participate in the auction. ONGC is the lead partner of the consortium with a 40 per cent stake followed by British Gas 35 per cent, Oil India 15 per cent and APGIC with 10 per cent.
The four blocks include one deep water and three shallow blocks in the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin.
APIIC chairman BP Acharya said the deep water block would require an investment of Rs 200 crore. The three shallow blocks would need Rs 1,400 crore. APGIC would contribute ten per cent of the investment accounting for Rs 20 crore and Rs 140 crore respectively.
Andhra Pradesh is the second state in the country after Gujarat to bid for oil and gas blocks through Nelp. “APGIC will play the role of a facilitator,” he said, adding the consortium members would bring in the required technical expertise to expedite exploration in the K-G basin and optimise gas utilisation in the state and create employment opportunities.
The state government had entered exploration and production after protracted discussions at various levels. It is ready to make substantial investments over a five-year period anticipating higher rewards from these activities.