Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily said the government plans to reduce the import dependence for crude oil by 30-40 percent over the next three to five years.
Moily said there is enough scope for tapping India’s own resources and this can be ushered in through reforms which the ministry was working on.
The ministry is preparing a road map to ensure country’s self-reliance in fossil fuel and natural gas. Currently, the country imports up to 80 percent of its crude oil needs.
Among other things, the road map aims to encourage investment in the oil sector. India cannot continue to forever import a majority of its oil needs. There is a need to attract big time foreign and local investment and also state of the art technology in order to achieve self-reliance, he noted.
He noted that under Barack Obama, USA wa marching towards achieving self-sufficiency over the next 10-15 years.
Moily said policies that will facilitate exploration of crude and gas fields without harming environment will be followed by his ministry.
The ministry is yet to take a view on increasing the number of subsidized LPG cylinders that can be given to domestic consumers, he said.
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