Union Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily stunned the nation on June 14 when he said Petroleum Ministers are threatened by oil import lobbies to deter them from taking decisions that could cut the import bill. But former Union Petroleum Minister in Vajpayee government Shri Ram Naik does not approve this ‘threat theory’ and says that Shri Moily is using this theory to hide his failures. Talking to Organiser Correspondent Pramod Kumar Shri Ram Naik says the indigenous production of crude oil and gas has decreased by 10 per cent during the last nine years and the Ministry has failed to regulate the petroleum sector. Excerpts:
Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily recently claimed that the oil import lobies have been threatening Petroleum ministers of the country. Were you also threatened anytime?
Never, I did not have any pressure from any agency. I was the Petroleum Minister for five years from 1999 to 2004. Since the constitution of a separate Petroleum Ministry in 1966, I was the only Petroleum Minister who worked for five years. All others worked hardly for two or three years. Now under Dr Manmohan Singh also in UPA, there have been four Petroleum Ministers—Manishankar Iyer, Murli Deora, Jaipal Reddy and now Veerappa Moily.
During the NDA government, we sincerely tried to increase indigenous production of crude oil and gas. When I was Petroleum Minister, we were importing 70 per cent of the crude oil and gas for our requirements. But now it has gone up to 80 per cent. It means our dependence on imports has increased by 10 per cent. It is for two reasons—consumption increased and indigenous production reduced.
If Shri Moily feels threatened he should identify those lobies. I feel to pressurise the Petroleum Ministers of India is not easy. I don’t know whether Shri Moily has really been threatened or he is hiding some facts. He might be using it as an excuse for his failures. Fact is that under this regime, the indigenous production of gas has considerably reduced. A horse rider should not complain about the horse. If he complains, it means he can’t ride properly. And that’s how Shri Moily is complaining others.
Left parties have called Shri Moily a liar. Do you agree?
I only say he has failed and he must identify those lobbies. And if he doesn’t do that, it means he’s liar.
How can we increase the production of crude oil and gas to reduce dependence on imports?
There are two ways. One is to increase indigenous production by exploring more areas than are being explored at present. We had given some grants for exploration of gas to Reliance and some different companies on the basis of competitive bids. Reliance has been successful in bringing out the gas, while the ONGC has been slow. As far as crude oil is concerned, in our times we found out a very big oil field at Barmer in Rajasthan. And that field is now giving one lakh 76 thousand barrels of oil. So it is such a big field. This way we had started increasing the indigenous production. But this government has done nothing about that. Secondly, we can also go out of the country and purchase oil fields or join the oil production activity. We invested Rs 9200 crore in oil fields at Sakhalin in Russia. After investing that amount we now get crude oil from there for the last 6-7 years. We also invested Rs 3400 crore in Sudan oil fields, which paid back the entire amount in three years. So, what we are getting from there now is some sort of bonus. So like that we can go out of India and try to purchase oil fields and get involved in the excavation activities. We had done it, but this government did nothing in the last 9 years. Change of Minister in the Petroleum Ministry so frequently will naturally bring lethargy in the ministry. Ultimately, the country has to pay for it.
There are reports that private parties are being promoted and Government agencies are being neglected in this field. What do you say?
No it is not like that. Actually it is we who opened this sector for private players. Now the private parties have been doing well as compared to the Government owned ONGC. So, again there comes the point that rider of the horse should ensure that the horse works properly. The country is suffering because of lack of proper petroleum policy. The change of four Ministers in such a short span means there is no political will to administer the Petroleum Ministry.
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