| Summary/Abstract |
According to statistics on the ministry of petroleum and natural gas website, the offshore sector accounted for production of 18.2 million tonnes of crude oil (over 48 per cent of the nation’s domestic production) and 72.3 MMSCMD of natural gas (74.5 per cent of the domestic production) in 2013-14. The collective value of this annual output, even at the current depressed price of around USD 45 per barrel, is nearly USD 13.9 billion or over Rs 86,000 crore. The replacement cost of the infrastructure for extraction of oil and gas from sub-sea fields, at a conservative estimate, is well in excess of Rs 250,000 crore. Is enough being done to secure this strategic national asset?
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