Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal outlines $4 billion investment plan to double oil production

Mining group Vedanta Ltd will invest $4 billion over the next three years to boost oil production, Chairman Anil Agarwal said on Tuesday as he pushed ahead with aggressive oil and gas expansion plans. double. Vedanta, which acquired the assets of Scottish explorer Cairn Energy (now Capricorn Energy) in India more than a decade ago, said during the 2017 Oil Exploration Campaign that the company aims to achieve 30 % per day in 3 years through aggressive exploration activities. million barrels (15 million tons per year) of oil production. India Energy Week (IEW) click here.

The company is moving ahead with the investment, undeterred by concerns about parent company Vedanta Resources’ debt levels. “India is the best place right now. It has the resources and it has the market.” “But unfortunately, we (as a country) only produce 15% of our needs and the rest is imported.” Agarwal said , his company currently produces about 140,000 barrels of oil and oil-equivalent natural gas per day and owns promising blocks in the Northeast and deepwater areas that it won in public block licensing bids.

“We are excited about the prospects and will continue to invest,” he said. He said the same during a CEO roundtable held by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of IEW.

“We told him (the prime minister) that we are bullish on India and see a lot of prospects. The country now has the right regulatory framework and the right environment,” he said. When asked about his wish list, he said India’s oil and gas production tax is as high as 65%, compared with the global average tax rate of 35%.

“We want to bring taxes down to global levels to be on par with global players,” he said, adding that the government should also offer leases to oil and gas blocks until their economic life instead of providing volumes on an ad hoc basis. Help companies better plan investment strategies. Agarwal said that India, as the world’s third largest oil importer, can achieve 50% energy self-sufficiency.

His company has partnered with U.S. oilfield services companies such as Halliburton and Baker Hughes to expand production capacity. Agarwal is a self-made billionaire who used borrowed money to buy distressed assets from the Indian government and mining companies around the world to grow Vedanta, which he founded, into a major natural resources conglomerate. Ratings agencies have expressed concerns over Vedanta Resources’ debt levels but said investments will continue.

Agarwal’s vast natural resource empire is concentrated in India, where his companies produce iron ore, bauxite, aluminum, copper, zinc, electricity and oil.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)