‘My Target for INDIA is to do Away with Oil Imports by 2030’

In less than three months after he took charge as petroleum minister, Veerappa Moily has been able to resolve several controversial issues in the oil and gas sector. He has approved raising crude oil output from the Barmer oilfield and convinced private oil and gas operators to accept CAG audits of their books. Recently, he implemented decontrol of diesel pricing, a decision that was pending for more than two years. In an exclusive conversation, the minister told Nistula Hebbar and Rajeev Jayaswal of ET that he is now preparing a road map to cut India's energy imports by 50% in the next seven years and make the country self reliant by 2030. 

What are you doing to raise oil and gas production to reduce India's import dependence? 
We have conventional hydrocarbons, shale gas and coal bed methane (CBM) resources. The need is to expedite exploration and production through right policy decisions that would encourage innovation and investments. We will constitute an expert panel, which will suggest the road map. My target is to reduce oil imports by 50% by 2020, 75% by 2025 and 100% by 2030. If China and Australia can do this in six years, why can't we? We will have aggressive acquisition strategy for oil and gas assets abroad. We will set up more LNG terminals. Gail is setting up pipelines across the country. Pipelines are up to the Pakistan border. We are planning to import gas from Turkmenistan. I'm confident. 
Who will be the new petroleum secretary after GC Chaturvedi retires this month? 
It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister. I don't have any particular preference. PM will make the right choice. All I need is positive mindset. I believe that you should mine your mind-set first before you mine minefields. 
The government allowed oil firms to fix diesel prices and mandated them to sell the fuel at market rates to bulk consumers . Is duel pricing of diesel feasible? 
There is no duel pricing. Bulk users, who consume about 18% of total diesel consumption, will pay full price from now. This will reduce subsidy burden on the fuel, which is . 96,000 crore this year. This will also encourage competition in the sector, which is good for the oil sector and good for the country. 
Is government firm on its decision on diesel? Private fuel retailers are apprehensive to take bold business decisions because they are uncertain about government's fuel retail policy? 
I don't think that there will be uncertainty. The government has taken the decision to give pricing freedom to oil companies. It is similar to petrol pricing. Oil companies fix petrol rates as market fluctuates. They recently reduced petrol prices by 25 paise. 
Currently petrol and diesel are priced on the basis of trade parity pricing. Is government considering changing it to export parity pricing? 
This decision has to be taken by the finance ministry. It is their domain. The oil ministry wants to raise the price of diesel to market level. 
The petroleum ministry has taken decisions on future oil and gas contracts and prices of natural gas. But no decision has been taken on CBM pricing, why? 
The matter is still pending with the Rangarajan committee. Until it gives its recommendations, we will treat CBM at par with natural gas, because it is also gas, but from a different source. Meanwhile, with the coal ministry, we are fine-tuning the CBM policy so that blocks under Coal India can also be used for CBM production. I had a meeting with the coal minister and the coal secretary on the matter. The coal ministry is to send us its comments on the matter in 20 days.