New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to amend existing law governing exploration and production of oil and gas, and delink petroleum operations from mining operations to boost investment in the sector. The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August this year, was passed by a voice vote.

Replying to the debate on the bill, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the oil and gas sector involves high investment and long gestation period. “We need oil and gas sector for 20 more years. We need to bring this legislation here to provide a win-win confidence not only to our own operators but also to foreign investors so that they can come and do business here with a view to benefit everyone,” Puri said.

He said policy stability, dispute resolution and sharing of infrastructure, especially for small players are new provisions in the bill. The bill aims to decriminalise some of the provisions of the original 1948, the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, by introducing “penalties, adjudication by an adjudicating authority and appeal as against the order of adjudicating authority”.

The bill proposes to introduce ‘petroleum lease’ and expands the definition of mineral oils to include crude oil, natural gas, petroleum, condensate, coal bed methane, oil shale, shale gas, shale oil, tight gas, tight oil and gas hydrate. This is with a view to raising domestic output and cutting reliance on imports.

Several opposition members demanded that the bill be sent to a standing committee for further scrutiny. Opposition member N R........

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