Parliament Question: Setting up of CBG Plants

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3058 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07th August, 2025 Setting up of CBG Plants

3058. Shri Ve Vaithilingam: पेट(cid:332)ोिलयम और (cid:366)ाकृ ितक गैस मं(cid:361)ी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is cognisant that exploration over a wider area is likely to yield more discoveries, raise domestic oil and gas output and cut reliance on imports;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the initiatives proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard;

(c) whether the Government is planning to supplement supplies by setting up of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants that use animal and agri waste to produce gas; and

(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER पेट(cid:332)ोिलयम और (cid:366)ाकृ ितक गैस मं(cid:361)ालय म(cid:336) रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी ((cid:373)ी सुरेश गोपी) MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

(a) & (b): The Government has undertaken various policy and technological initiatives for exploration of wider areas to discover new potential sources of crude oil and natural gas. The Government had launched Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) in 2016.

Under, HELP, 09 Open Acreages Licensing Policy (OALP) bid rounds have been completed so far. Under these rounds, a total of 172 blocks measuring 380,603.23 Square Kilometers (sq km) have been awarded to the successful bidders through International Competitive Bidding.

Further, OALP Bid Round-X, offering 25 blocks covering 1,91,986.21 sq. km, was launched on 15.04.2025. Further National Oil Companies have also expanded areas of exploration within their Petroleum Mining Lease areas for blocks under nomination regime. Other major initiatives of Government of India in this regard, inter-alia, include:

i. Appraisal of Un-appraised areas in Sedimentary Basins under National Seismic Programme, 2017. ii. Policy Framework for exploration and exploitation of Unconventional Hydrocarbons under Existing Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Contracts and Nomination Fields, 2018.

iii. Release of about 1 Million Sq. Km. (SKM) ‘No-Go’ area in offshore which were blocked for exploration for decades, in 2022. iv. Government is also spending about Rs.7500 Cr. for acquisition of seismic data in onland and offshore areas and drilling of stratigraphic wells to make quality data of Indian Sedimentary Basins available to bidders. Government has approved acquisition of additional 2D Seismic data of 20,000 LKM in onland and 30,000 LKM in offshore beyond Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India.v. New technologies like Airborne Gravity Gradiometry and Gravity Magnetic Survey, Passive Seismic Tomography (PST), Low-Frequency Passive Seismic

(LFPS) Surveys have been implemented to acquire high quality data for processing and interpretation.

As a result of these concerted efforts of Government of India, 34 Notices of Discovery (NoD) have been submitted by operators to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH) during the last three years.

(c) & (d): Government has taken various steps to encourage setting up Compressed Bio-Gas

(CBG) plants across the country. These steps includes assured price for off-take of CBG through long term agreements with Oil and Gas Marketing Companies (OGMCs); the Umbrella Scheme of National Bio Energy Programme by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which inter-alia provided Central Financial Assistance to all kind of CBG/biogas plants; Additional Central Assistance for Municipal Solid Waste-based CBG projects under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0; the inclusion of bio-manure produced from CBG plants as Fermented Organic Manure and Liquid Fermented Organic Manure under Fertilizer Control Order 1985; Market Development Assistance to promote Organic Fertilizer produced from CBG projects by Department of Fertilizers; the inclusion of CBG projects under ‘White Category’ by Central Pollution Control Board on case to case basis; the inclusion of CBG projects under Priority Sector Lending by RBI; loan products from various Banks for financing of CBG projects; etc.

Further, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has taken initiatives such as guidelines for synchronization of CBG with CNG in CGD Network; a scheme for the development of pipeline infrastructure (DPI) for injection of CBG into the City Gas Distribution (CGD) network; a scheme to support CBG producers for procurement of Business Aggregation Machinery (BAM) Scheme; and phase wise mandatory blending of CBG in CNG (T) and PNG (D) segment of CGD network.

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