NEW DELHI, Aug 23 � The Government of Assam has earned Rs 2,368.23 crore on account of royalty, Sales Tax and duties from ONGC and OIL in the last fiscal. In addition, cess paid to Government of India by ONGC and OIL on crude oil production from Assam was Rs 2,241.36 crore.
In order to supplement exploration and production activities in Assam, the Centre has awarded 19 exploration blocks, one discovered field and one coal bed Methane (CBM) block through international bidding process. So far, cumulative investments to the tune of USD 283 million has been made for exploration and development activities in Assam under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dr. M Veerappa Moily said in a Lok Sabha reply to a question by Joseph Toppo and Ramen Deka.
Further, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has planned a refinery expansion from 3 to 8-9 million metric tonne per annum, which is envisaged for processing of imported crude oil. Feasibility, studies are in progress. Based on preliminary estimates, investment in NRL�s refinery expansion and associated pipeline for transporting imported crude oil is expected to be about Rs 15,000 crore, informed the Minister.
