據世界能源2021年12月31日消息：印度石油部長周四表示，印度國有石油天然氣公司(ONGC)計劃到2025年將其勘探和生產面積擴大四倍。作為世界第三大石油進口國，印度尋求減少對原油進口的嚴重依賴。

周四，印度石油和天然氣部長Hardeep Singh Puri在參觀了ONGC位于Maharatna的綜合能源中心后在推特上表示，ONGC未來的戰略包括到2025年將勘探開發面積從目前的12.7萬平方公里增加到50萬平方公里。

這位部長補充說，該國有石油公司還將“重點關注綠色氫和其他來源的國內石油和天然氣生產，這將有助于減少燃料進口賬單”。

惠譽評級(Fitch Ratings)本月早些時候在一份有關ONGC的報告中表示，ONGC占印度油氣產量的75%左右，而其15年的長期儲備壽命為印度未來的現金流提供了可見性，并與“A”級同行相當。惠譽對ONGC的獨立信用評級為“bbb+”。

該公司董事長Subhash Kumar本周在接受當地媒體《論壇報》采訪時表示，印度北部的喜馬偕爾邦擁有“巨大的石油和天然氣勘探潛力”。

最近幾個月，印度對其進口賬單并不滿意，因為與其他一些石油進口國相比，印度經濟和煉油商對國際原油價格更為敏感。印度的進口滿足了80%以上石油需求，是石油消費大國之一，該國一再呼吁歐佩克+以超出計劃的方式增加石油產量，以冷卻價格上漲。

上個月，有報道稱，印度正尋求通過要求ONGC權衡出售兩個大型海上油氣田的多數股權來提高國內石油產量。

10 月，印度石油部部長Tarun Kapoor告訴路透社，美國石油巨頭埃克森美孚正在就投資ONGC在印度東海岸的一些深水勘探資產進行談判。

馮娟 摘譯自 世界能源

原文如下：

Indian State Oil Giant To Significantly Expand Oil Exploration

Indian state firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to raise fourfold its exploration and production acreage by 2025, India’s petroleum minister said on Thursday, as the world’s third-biggest oil importer looks to reduce its large dependence on crude imports.

ONGC’s strategy for the future includes boosting the E&P acreage from the current 127,000 square kilometers to 500,000 square kilometers by 2025, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted on Thursday after visiting the company’s integrated energy center in Maharatna.

The state oil firm will “also focus on green hydrogen & other sources of enhancing domestic petroleum & natural gas production in the country which will contribute in reducing the fuel import bill,” the minister added.

onGC accounts for around 75 percent of India’s oil and gas production, while its long reserve life of 15 years provides visibility on future cash flows and is comparable to that of ‘A’ rated peers, Fitch Ratings said in a report on the company earlier this month. Fitch has a ‘bbb+’ standalone credit profile (SCP) rating on ONGC.

The company’s chairman Subhash Kumar told local outlet The Tribune in an interview this week that the Himachal Pradesh state in northern India had “immense potential in oil and natural gas exploration.”

In recent months, India has not been happy with its import bill as its economy and refiners are more sensitive to international crude oil prices than some other oil-importing nations. India, where imports meet more than 80 percent of oil demand, is one of the large oil consumers that has repeatedly called on OPEC+ to increase oil production more than planned in order to cool the rally in prices.

Last month, reports emerged that India was looking to boost its domestic oil production by asking onGC to weigh a potential sale of majority stakes in two large offshore oil and gas fields.

In October, India’s petroleum ministry secretary Tarun Kapoor told Reuters that U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil was in talks to potentially invest in some of ONGC’s deepwater exploration assets off India’s east coast.