India’s Hydrocarbon Outlook 2024 143 A Report on Exploration & Production Activities in other unexplored areas. To tackle these systemic and operational shortcomings, the government introduced a Revenue Sharing Contract Regime, heralding significant policy overhauls. Two major policies were formulated to implement the Revenue Sharing Contract Mechanism are Discovered Small Field Policy & Open Acreage Licence Policy. a. Discovered Small Field Policy, 2015 to target the unpursued discoveries The Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy introduced by the Government of India in 2015 falls under the broader framework of the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to the policy on September 2, 2015, followed by formal notification on October 14, 2015. The primary objective of the DSF Policy is to reduce India’s dependence on hydrocarbon imports and efficiently exploit established reserves by making unmonetized discovered fields available for exploration and production activities. This policy is designed to attract investments and technology, both from domestic and foreign sources, to tap into the untapped potential of small and marginal fields while operating under a Revenue Sharing regime. Key points about the DSF Policy include: • Reduction in Import Dependency: One of the main goals of the DSF Policy is to decrease India’s reliance on imported hydrocarbons.Bydevelopingandproducing from small & medium unmonetized discovered fields within the country, India aims to enhance its energy security. • Utilization of Established Reserves: The DSF Policy targets discovered fields that have not been fully exploited or monetized. These fields may contain valuable hydrocarbon resources that can be harnessed for domestic consumption. • Attracting Investments and Technology: To achieve its objectives, the DSF Policy seeks to attract investments and advanced technologies from both domestic and international companies. This is expected to contribute to the development of the oil and gas sector in India. • Revenue Sharing Regime: Under the DSF Policy, contracts are typically awarded througharevenue-sharingmechanism. This means that operators will share a portion of their revenue with the government, which can provide a stable and transparent framework for investment. The DSF Policy represents a significant step in India’s energy strategy, aiming to leverage its domestic hydrocarbon resources more effectively, reduce import dependency, promote small and Private Operators, and foster investment and technology transfer in the energy sector. The DSF Bid Round-I, launched on May 25, 2016, marked the onset of a new era in the country’s oil and gas sector. Following the successful implementation of DSF Bid Round-I, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting dated 7th February 2018 approved extension of this Policy to include un-monetized discoveries/ small fields from Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime along with un-monetized
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE0OTM0OQ==