HOW TO SECURE OUR OIL NEEDS

AMID THE GLOBAL CLASH BETWEEN SAUDI - LED OPEC & US SHALE OIL PRODUCERS, INDIA IS CRAFTING A BALANCED STRATEGY TO MINIMISE THE ECONOMIC SHOCKS OF RISING OIL PRICES.

HIS BRIEF IS CLEARLY SPELT OUT.

Dinesh Kumar Sarraf, appointed Chairman of the beleaguered Petroleum Natural Gas Regulatory Board, or PNGRB, in December, has to debottleneck and ensure a ramp-up of the infrastructure required for gas transportation in the country. Sarraf is central to Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s plans to reduce India's consumption of oil and scale-up the gas component in the energy basket – from the existing 6.2 per cent to 15 per cent over the next decade.

The attempt to empower PNGRB signals that Pradhan means business.