OIL holds participatory interest in 27 NELP blocks: CMD

Duliajan: Oil India Limited (OIL) holds participatory interest (PI) in 27 NELP blocks at the end of NELP IX bidding round.

In addition, OIL is holding 40 per cent PI in one CBM block in Assam, the oil major's Chairman and Managing Director U P Singh told shareholders at the 56th Annual General Meeting here today.

Exploratory drilling is undergoing in both KG Basin and Mizoram blocks where Oil India is the operator, he added.

Of the 27 blocks, it has the right of operatorship/joint operatorship in 12 blocks and as non-operator in 15 blocks at the close of the bidding round which ended on March 31, 2015.

Singh said during the year, OIL made 12 hydrocarbon discoveries, of which 11 were in the upper Assam basin and the last is a gas discovery in NELP VI BLOCK KG-ONN-2004/1 falling in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

Hydrocarbon reserve accretion during the year was 8.01 MMT (O+OEG) of oil and gas as against 7.98 MMT (O+OEG) of oil and gas in 2013-14.

Regarding OIL's natural gas production, Singh said that the company achieved production of 2,722 MMSCM from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan fields during the year.

The present gas production potential is about 7.50 MMSCMD from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh fields and about 0.70 MMSCMD from the Rajasthan fields.

Efforts are on to increase gas production potential to a level of 10 MMSCMD in the North East for uninterrupted supply of gas to all customers, he added.

Singh said OIL's sound financial performance enabled the company to obtain international credit ratings - Moody's "BAA2" (higher than sovereign rating) and Fitch Rating "BBB(-)" (Stable) (equivalent to sovereign rating) for the second consecutive year, besides the domestic credit rating of 'AAA', the highest by ICRA.

OIL's contribution to the state exchequer during the year was Rs 1,822 crore and that to the central government it was Rs 3,585 crore.

Singh said it is a matter of pride that OIL's audited annual accounts have 'nil' comments from CAG for 13 years in a row.