Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024 : Passed
The Rajya Sabha recently passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, via a voice vote, paving the way for significant changes in India’s oil and gas exploration laws.
- It is a bill to amend the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948, aiming to boost investment in oil and gas exploration and production.
- The bill will regulate the exploration and extraction of natural gas and petroleum.
- The amended bill expands the definition of mineral oils to include petroleum and natural gas in it.
- The amended bill includes any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, coal bed methane, and shale gas/oil in the category of mineral oils.
- However, it clarifies that mineral oils will not include coal, lignite, or helium.
- It also provides for mining leases – this will include various activities such as exploration, prospecting, production, making merchantable, and disposal of mineral oils.
- Prospecting is the initial stage in the search for oil and gas fields, involving the assessment of potential petroleum accumulations across large areas.
- The new bill will replace the mining lease with a petroleum lease to cover a similar set of activities. However, existing mining leases granted under the old Law will continue to be valid.
- The new bill will empower the central government to make rules on several matters, like regulating the grant of leases, merger, terms and conditions of leases, including the minimum and the maximum area and the period of the lease, conservation and development of mineral oils, methods for producing oil, and manner of collection of royalties, fees, and taxes, etc.
- It aims to decriminalize some of the provisions of the original 1948 law by introducing “penalties, adjudication by an adjudicating authority, and appeal as against the order of the adjudicating authority”.
- For cases of violation of rules, the bill provides to hike the punishment and penalty from a current fine of Rs 1000 to Rs 25 lakhs.
- In cases of exploring, prospecting, and production without a valid lease, a penalty of Rs 25 lakhs and continued violations will attract a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per day.
- For dispute resolution, the central government will appoint an officer of the rank of joint Secretary or above for adjudication of penalties.
- Appeals against the decision of the adjudication officer can be filed at the Appellate tribunal specified in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Board Regulatory Board Act, 2006.
