Govt sees North East economy leveraging petroleum sector growth

The 'Hydrocarbon Vision 2030' development document for the North East, released on Tuesday at Guwahati, aims at doubling oil and gas production from the region by 2030, making clean fuels accessible, fast tracking projects, generating employment opportunities and promoting cooperation with neighbouring countries.

Minister of state (IC) for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday released the `Hydrocarbon Vision 2030' development document for north-east India, which outlines steps to leverage the hydrocarbon sector for development of the region.

The Vision 2030 document, proposes to leverage the region's hydrocarbon potential, enhance access to clean fuels, improve availability of petroleum products, facilitate economic development and link common people to the economic activities in this sector.

Speaking at the function, the petroleum minister said his ministry has consciously and constantly focused efforts towards making hydrocarbons a tool to enable social and economic development. The Vision Document has been a focused and consultative exercise to develop a common and shared aspiration for benefiting people of the north east region, he added.

''With involvement and inputs of various stakeholders, industry players and state governments, the Vision Document not only includes the ambition for the region but also an actionable roadmap.''

CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory has been the knowledge partner to develop this vision report.

The petroleum ministry document, finalized after a series of consultations with the state governments covers states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

The Vision rests on five pillars - people, policy, partnership, projects and production.

For people, it foresees clean fuel access to households alongside fostering skill development and involvement of the local community. The policy focus areas include moderation in light of specific terrain and weather conditions of the region coupled with ensuring fund planning for new projects. As for partnership, the stress is on greater involvement of state governments in planning and implementation, and on boosting trade with neighbouring nations. In projects, the focus is on pipeline connectivity for carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, and petroleum products, oil and lubricants (POL); building refineries and import links; and development of compressed natural gas (CNG) highways and city gas distribution network.

The production side emphases include production enhancement contracts, technology deployment and fast-track clearance, and development of service provider hubs.

Beyond production, the focus areas include exploring hydrocarbon linkages and trade opportunities with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan; implementation of 'Make In India' in the region; development of health and medical facilities; industrial policy and infrastructure related action points; focus on skill development; and employment generation requirement in the region.

The vision statement lays out a detailed roadmap for the entire hydrocarbons value chain, covering upstream, midstream and downstream segments. This report includes an action plan – of immediate, medium-term and long-term initiatives – to help achieve the objectives.

Pradhan stressed on a paradigm shift in production and utilisation of hydrocarbons to catalyse growth in the North East region and to improving standard of living for the people, generating opportunities for the youth and creating a sustainable energy secure future.

He said the realization of the vision would require collaborative efforts of central and state governments with the determination to bring the developmental shift the people of North East deserve. This will be a concrete step towards realizing our prime minister's vision to develop the North East India in a mission mode, he added.