As part of an ambitious plan to expand its oil and gas production, mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd.'s chairman, Anil Agarwal, announced on Tuesday that the company would invest USD 4 billion over the next three years to double oil production. On the fringes of India Energy Week (IEW) here, he stated that Vedanta, which more than ten years ago purchased the Indian assets of Scottish explorer Cairn Energy (now Capricorn Energy), is aiming for three years of vigorous exploration to produce 300,000 barrels of oil per day (15 million tonnes annually).
"Right now, India is the greatest place to be. It has the market and the resources. However, just 15% of what we need as a nation is produced here; the remainder is imported," he stated. According to Agarwal, his business now produces about 140,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent petrol every day and has a promising amount of land in deepwater and the northeast that it obtained through open acreage licensing bid rounds.
"We are excited about the prospects and will continue to invest," he stated.
At the CEO's roundtable that Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted off the sidelines of IEW, he made the same statement.
"We informed the PM that we have high hopes for India and are optimistic about the country. The nation currently has the ideal climate and regulatory structure," he further stated.
When asked about his wish list, he stated that India has taxes on oil and gas output as high as 65%, compared to the global average of 35%.
"We want to see our taxes reduced to international levels so that we can compete with other global players," he stated. He also mentioned that the government ought to grant leases for oil and gas blocks for the duration of their economic life rather than a fixed number of years to enable businesses to more effectively plan their investment strategies.
India, the third-largest oil importer in the world, can achieve 50% energy self-sufficiency, according to Agarwal. To increase capacity, his company has partnered with US oilfield service providers such as Baker & Hughes and Halliburton.
Self-made billionaire Agarwal used borrowed funds to purchase troubled assets from the Indian government and mining firms across the world, growing the company Vedanta, which he created, into a sizable natural resources group. Although Vedanta Resources' debt levels have alarmed rating agencies, he insisted that investments will continue.
The majority of Agarwal's vast natural resource empire is centered in India, where his business generates oil, power, copper, zinc, iron ore, bauxite, aluminium, and zinc.
